New Ages
by Cloudmeister
Summary: A weird crossover, a keybearer is a saber, and the animals are moving out of the bowl. [MannyxEllie], [SidxOC], possibly another coupling. [CH15 UP!] [Fanfic is on Hold].
1. Planning And Feelings

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Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age or any of its characters. I do not own any ideas or anything from Kingdom Hearts. Mile is mine.

**Chapter 1: Planning and Feelings**

It was only a few days after the fateful day, the meltdown. It was almost unavoidable, especially for the group of six, Manny, Diego, Sid, Ellie, Crash, and Eddie. They had been stranded on a boulder, with nowhere to go, except down. The boat had made it, which made the group a bit happy, but the same idea came through their head. They were going to die...but somehow they made it, and now the sun was shining upon them again. Afterwards after many squabbles, the herd had set off again. Manny and Ellie became inseparable. Manny acted interesting, more like Ellie. Things like hanging from trees with her, or being all fun and running around with her laughing, and smiling bright. It was amazing to see his renewed personality, but the others were happy to see this, and happier that he still was the brains of the herd. He also kept his attitude around, but it was mostly centered around Sid.

And when the two aren't playing around, the two mammoths started to be more loving and a little flirty with each other, saying and calling each other little nick-names and sometimes kissing or locking trunks. This called for one thing at least for Diego and Sid. And it was too bad barf-bags weren't made yet because they probably would need some.

Speaking of them, Sid is also living his interesting life, trying to rebuild his camp but utterly failing and being dragged around by the mini-sloth tribe who decided to stick around. Every time they tried to do something crazy with the sloth, Diego usually had to chase them off or grab Sid and hightail it. But other then that, he was happy with his saber and mammoth friends with him. They were the only ones he could actually open up to, though he tends to joke around at times, and get Diego and Manny annoyed.

Diego, being the lone saber apparently, had a few troubles, sometimes being hesitant going near water even though he risked his life saving Sid and the two possum brothers. He knew he had to save them, but was scared, despite how he told Sid that tigers don't feel fear. But he managed to 'stalk the prey,' and he managed to get the three out of that tight spot. Now he's slowly getting used to it, and with his friends, he's sure that he'll conquer his fear of water with time.

Lately, things have been pretty active, with the unusual herd chatting or going to their usual schedules. They'd also talk with other herds when one or more wanted to. But soon the tranquility would end, as the animals would have to move to safety. It wasn't exactly the safest place where they were, it was a big bowl after-all. Although there was a crevice and opening in the bowl, that 'hole' would eventually be filled, then they would be in the same situation. They had to leave, but the problem was, where would they go?

It was another simple day, but also the day where the group would discuss the plan on leaving. Sid, Diego, and the possum brothers were waiting for the mammoths, already grouped together. The two mischievous little bros were up to no good of course, whenever another animal came by, started shooting rocks at their feet. Every time they laughed or said some crack comment. Sid smacked his hand over his face.

"Maybe, they won't recognize me." He said dryly. Sid and Diego, being nearby the two, were feeling like their reputations would be messed up if hanging around Crash and Eddie. But of course, they had no choice, they had to meet here, and they WERE a family. A weird one but family none the less in a way. And even though the two were embarrassing, Sid and Diego felt a little bond with them as well.

Finally, after continuous waiting, the two lovebirds approached the group, sides touching slightly. Ellie was smiling softly, and so was Manny, but Sid was frowning, being a little impatient.

"THANK you for coming to this ever so important meeting ladies and gentlemen, now may we please get down to business." He said sarcastically. Diego chuckled slightly, and Manny blushed. Him and Ellie had went off to discuss what they were to do. After-all, being a couple, they wanted to discuss their plans and the future. They kind of got caught into it, and realized they were going to be late, so they instantly left to meet up with the other four.

"S-Sorry, got caught up with something…" He told the sloth, looking at Ellie. She giggled slightly, and nodded. Only Diego seemed to be catching what was going on, but ignored it for the moment as he nodded as well.

"Its fine, but really, we got to discuss what we're going to do. Everyone's moving out of this 'bowl.'" He said, looking at the animals from afar. Manny thought for a moment, it seemed as if such a simple question, that there would be a simple answer. But he couldn't think up anything, all he knew was that they were going to head through the crack, and hope for god's sake that it led to somewhere safer.

"I gots a suggestion." Sid raised his hand grinning. Diego glanced at the sloth. "We don't need suggestions on how to die, thank you." He responded with a soft snicker. Crash and Eddie held their paws to their mouths to muffle their laughter as well. Sid frowned, pretending to be hurt.

"Well SCUSSSE me." His arms crossed and he looked the other way. Diego chuckled and gave his friend a friendly noogie.

"Relax, I was only joking." He said, smiling.

"So funny I forgot to laugh." Sid snickered as he looked back at his tiger friend. Ellie giggled and petted Sid with her trunk. Although she's only talked with Diego and Sid for a while, she was easily amused by the sloth's antics.

"Let's just make sure we keep an eye on the other herds. We lost track of them when escaping the flood, and I kind of think that was why we were last to get there." She suggested. Manny smiled, liking the idea, though the others probably wouldn't expect him to be against Ellie.

"I think that's a good idea." He agreed. He then added with a warm smile. "But don't forget, if it wasn't for us wandering, we would've never run into you Ellie..." He then kissed Ellie's cheek, making her giggle and flush. Crash and Eddie held in more little giggles as they climbed up onto the female mammoth's tusks. Diego nodded, smiling. It was true, if they continued with the crowd, they probably wouldn't have seen Ellie, Crash, or Eddie, and the worse thing that could've happen, would be that they'd be killed, drown from the flood because they were only traveling at night.

"Actually that's a good idea. If we keep to the others' trail, less chance we'll be asking for a death wish." He laughed dryly at his little joke while others were a little less amused. Manny then glanced at everyone, seeing they finished their plans early.

"So its settled, first break of daylight tomorrow, we head out." Everyone nodded. Sid then stretched slightly and let out a yawn.

"Well I better tell the others that we're leaving tomorrow." As he started to walk away, Diego yelled out.

"Going to need a bodyguard Fire King?" He teased. Diego was slightly amused when he saw the mini-sloths bowing to Sid like a leader, it wasn't something one would see every day, or at all. Sid grinned and looked at the tiger.

"That's Mr. Fire King to you. And it wouldn't be nice to leave a whole tribe here." He then started walking again…and hit his head on a branch, making him fall backwards on his back. Everyone laughed as they went out to do their own things, leaving the dizzy sloth to stumble away.

---Meanwhile---

Manny and Ellie were walking side-by-side again, but this time, unlike the times they would just be talking and saying loving things to each other, Manny was silent and looking down at the ground, thinking. Ellie noticed how he was distracted, and nudged him slightly, making him look at her.

"You okay Hun?" She asked, a bit worried. Manny's never been so silent before when they walked together except for a few occasions. He nodded and smiled softly, trunk wrapping around hers. "Yeah I am, thanks for asking…" He murmured. She smiled a bit too.

"Anytime," She stopped, then looked sternly at him. "Now spill it, what's wrong." She asked again, being persistent. Manny's trunk unlocked with hers, and he glanced away, making her worry even more. Now he was really starting to make her feel more concerned for her mate.

"Manny, if we're going to be together, we got to be open to each other…you know that." Her smart words made Manny's eyes widen a bit, and he suddenly felt a bit ashamed about the whole thing. At the times Ellie made these comments, his heart 'shrunk' a bit, her words piercing him fast. It was kind of a good thing too, even though it looked bad.

"Just…if this turns into another adventure like the ones me and my friends been through, I don't want you to get hurt." He said, looking at her with worried eyes. Ellie gazed back into his eyes, then she came closer.

"Oh baby, you shouldn't worry about me that much. You know I'll be alright." Manny's voice then got more loud after this, just like the time when she agreed to come with the herd to escape the flood.

"How can I be sure! How can I know that you won't get killed like my…" He stopped, backed up a bit, then looked away again, even more shamed. Ellie was taken aback by his voice a bit, but she then finished his sentence weakly.

"Your family… You know my family went away too…I know how you feel…" She said, her voice and volume not changing. Manny then took a deep breath, then let it out, realizing he shouldn't have been so hard with her.

"I'm sorry…" He told her, looking into her eyes. Ellie then smiled and shoved him gently. "Its alright, now cheer up!" She smiled bright. He then smiled back just as bright, and started chasing her again. Then as he caught up to her, he tackled and rolled onto the ground with her, laughing. It was easy to get out of their bad moods, at least this time. Manny and Ellie both got in good laughs as they laid there, looking at each other. They then let their trunks intertwine, feeling safe, their bond continuing to stand strong. And they were determined not to let it break during their next journey.

Just to say, I can NOT believe I am making the crossover I'm writing right now. But can you blame boredom? I hope you enjoy this fanfic, or can enjoy it, because the reason I combined these two things into one weird story is because of a few things. One I just saw Ice Age 2, Two I just beat Kingdom Hearts 2, Three Ice Age technically made by disney, and Four I just HAD to make some Manny/Ellie fluff too. So yeah...enjoy because I intend to finish up the Kingdom Hearts portion hopefully soon. I hope for at least one review before I put up the already ready Chapter 2.


	2. Heartless!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age or Kingdom Hearts. I only own Mile.**

**Chapter 2: Heartless!**

The whole group woke up the next morning, and met up at the base of the opening out of that area, at the break of dawn. They all gave glances to one another, then nodded, obviously ready. They then started to wait for the other packs to come. Sid smiled and picked up a few rocks, starting to juggle. Oddly, he never had any experience to juggle two rocks, but he was juggling three with no problem.

"H-Hey guys! I'm juggling! Now I'm the fire god AND the juggling god." He exclaimed. Diego then glanced at Sid.

"Well I know one thing, you're also the god of stupidity." He grinned. Sid frowned. "Your just jealous of my natural sense of creativity, boldness, and couragggge!" He couldn't finish the last word straight because he then tripped over a boulder, god forbid and fell on his back, the three rocks all hitting him square in the middle of his forehead.

"Ooh my aching…" He slowly got up, rubbing his eyes. "Couldn't lend a paw eh Diego? Diego?" He looked at his tiger friend, wondering why he didn't response. That was because his, and the others, eyes were transfixed on something up ahead. When Sid looked at the direction they were, his eyes popped open too.

It was a small…black blob that was moving, like a shadow across the ground. When it popped up, showing its small, flexible figure, its yellow eyes pierced Manny, Diego, Sid, Ellie, and the possum brothers like knives. Then another popped up, and another, and another, till their was a total of six.

"What are they?" Sid asked. Unfortunately nobody had the answer. The things slowly began advancing, making the herd back up a bit. Things advance, herd backwards. Manny then stepped in front of Ellie.

"Everyone get behind me and Diego." Diego glanced up at the mammoth, who also glanced back down at the saber. They were the strongest of the pack, they had to protect Sid, Crash, Eddie, and Ellie. So Manny's head slowly came down, tusks ready to pierce. Diego also got ready to pounce. But somehow, they had a strange feeling in their gut they couldn't win this fight.

But they had to try. So Diego came lunging forward the same time one of the creatures did. His claw passed across the thing, making it burst with contact on the ground. But a second came at Diego, making him move back a bit. The more surprising thing, at least two more took the destroyed creature's place.

"These things are popping up like possums." Diego commented.

"Hey!" Crash and Eddie's paws crossed. Diego chuckled.

"Sorry." He said. He then attempted to squash one, though it led to him getting his in the back. He growled and stumbled forward as he whipped the one who back-attacked him with his tail, making it fly back into another creature.

But whatever they did, the creatures continued to spawn, until their was twice the numbers Diego took care of. A horn-like sound then filled the air, and there went Manny crashing into the same number of heartless that appeared.

"Heads up!" He yelled as he rammed them. They burst into black blobs as he did, but a few more appeared, and started smacking him in his side. It didn't hurt much, but it made him grunt and back up a bit. Ellie was worried to death.

"Manny!" She screamed. Manny couldn't help but be distracted by her worried voice, so he attempted to sound cool. "Don't worry sugar-lump, I got this." He said. Then a voice out of nowhere went…

"Doesn't seem like you do." Then a figure jumped from above in front of Manny and Diego. This took them back, it was…another tiger. Diego came forward a bit.

"Another saber!" He exclaimed, utterly shocked. The mysterious tiger glanced at Diego, and that was when he finally noticed something in his mouth. A key of some sorts, but it was long and had a weird looking key chain.

"Take this!" The tiger yelled, and came forward, thrusting its head and slashing the heartless to pieces. This time they didn't come back as he jumped and dodged the heartless attacks, thrusting his head around and slashing them when he could. The others were surprised and watching this in awe, until the tiger took care of all the heartless. It seemed to be over…for now.

The weapon in the tiger's mouth shined, then disappeared as he panted, seemingly exhausted. Diego came forward oddly, still surprised by the display this other tiger performed.

"Uh…you okay?" He asked as he snapped out of it. The tiger looked at Diego and nodded slowly.

"Yeah…just been exhausted lately." He admitted. Manny then came forward.

"How did you get rid of them? When we hit them, they didn't just disappear like when you did." He asked curiously. The tiger smiled.

"Well before I answer that, I believe introductions are in order. After-all, you can't be telling some 'things' to pure strangers." He said. Manny then nodded slowly, completely understanding.

"I'm Manny, the sloth here is Sid, the other tiger's Diego, she's…" He pointed his trunk to Ellie, also taking a bit of time to see if she was okay. When he saw she was, he continued.

"This is Ellie. And the two possums are Crash and Eddie. Now you." He added the last bit. The darker colored tiger laughed a bit.

"Don't waste any time do you, I'm Mile." He greeted them, though his voice seemed a bit off when saying his name. But the others didn't notice, and simply nodded.

"Nice to meet you." Ellie smiled. Mile also smiled and nodded back, then glanced at everyone. "Now…I suppose you'd like to know about those attackers." They all nodded. Mile took a breath, then nodded to himself to continue.

"Well…those things are known as heartless. Whoever their able to take down they take the hearts of, and meld the darkness of those hearts into what we call heartless." Seeing he lost his audience, Mile coughed again.

"Well, basically those things are bad news, and pretty much only when I'm around you guys can destroy them." He said. Sid nodded his head, though he barely could understand what was going on, he decided to act why he knew. Manny then thought for a bit.

"Well then, maybe you should come with us." He suggested. Ellie nodded with her boyfriend's idea. Mile then backed up a bit, shaking his head.

"Whoa wait a minute, who said I was coming with all you guys? I have my own little quest to continue." He said. Crash looked oddly.

"Quest?" He asked. Mile nodded.

"Yeah…a-and don't think I'll share either!" The tiger said. Everyone glanced at one another, then advanced on Mile. Diego paced around him, with eyes that can pierce even the toughest.

"How come your not going to share? In league with those heartless things?" He accused. Mile glared at his almost identical counterpart.

"That's a stupid thing to think, wasn't I just the one who saved your rears from extinction?" He accused right back, making Diego growl slightly. Manny then bumped his friend with his trunk, making him only slightly calm down.

"Listen, we're just wondering, but if you don't want to share, its fine with us." He said softly. Mile looked up at Manny, almost curious why he was giving up so fast. The tiger then sighed slightly.

"Look, if I told you, you all would be getting dragged into something, something dangerous. And I got to handle this by myself." He said. Sid then snapped his fingers.

"It got something to do with those black blobs doesn't it!" He grinned, thinking he was having one of his moments. He just might be too, since Mile gulped.

"Well…" He looked away. They were getting close to figuring it out anyways, and all because of his mouth. Eddie then grinned.

"It does! Right Crash?"

"Right!" Crash agreed with his brother. Ellie nodded along with them, making Mile wince. Manny glanced down at him.

"Listen just tell us, it can't be THAT bad." He said. Mile then took a breath again. They were persistent.

"Listen, I'm…not from this world." He said. That put everyone in surprise. Not from this world? What was he talking about? Mile saw he was losing his crowd again, and he wished he could too, but he decided to continue.

"Just that…I'm really human." That put everyone's brains in a knot for good. Diego then laughed a bit dryly.

"You're a saber, not a human." He continued laughing uneasily. When Mile's stern glance didn't let down, Diego then frowned as well, then his eyes dropped. He really thought he found someone like him that wasn't interested in his friends for his appetite.

"Listen Diego, I'm kind of guessing your depressed now because of me, and I'm sorry, but I'm telling the truth." Mile said, his own eyes drooping a bit. The saber nodded silently, now trying to believe Mile as Manny asked…

"How can you be a human?" Mile shrugged.

"Who knows, when I popped up here, I was a tiger. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I was supposed to blend in with you guys." Mile shrugged again. He really couldn't answer straightly. That still left everyone confused, so Mile made the key blade appear in his mouth. He then dropped it on the ground in front of him.

"This thing is what I use to destroy the heartless. There's a lot of keybearers as of late, don't know why, but we need them. I may be trapped here though…" He said softly. This made him collapse on his belly.

"Of course you guys seem to need my help…" He continued on. Sid nodded jumping on Mile's back.

"Yes! Help is good!"

"No Sid, the tiger already made it clear he has something else to do." Manny said as his trunk wrapped around the sloth and dropped Sid on his back. Mile then chuckled slightly. He was starting to get used to this herd.

"Well…maybe I could follow you guys around for a while." He started. Sid grinned.

"AHA!"

"I said a WHILE, I didn't say for the whole trip." Mile glanced at the sloth. His shoulders slumped at this, while Ellie giggled.

"The more the merrier!" She exclaimed. The two possum brothers agreed. Manny nodded as well while Diego was still silent.

"Then its settled, you can follow us for as long as you want, then hightail it." The mammoth said. Mile nodded and smiled, then glanced at Diego.

"Err…you alright man?" He asked. Diego glanced at Mile, and nodded slightly.

"Yeah I'm fine…we should get going." He suggested as he saw other packs approaching. Manny then nodded.

"Alright then!" He then started walking the lead, Ellie right next to him. Sid on Mile's back, and Diego approaching the rear, very silent. It seemed the journey was beginning.

**Author's PN: Well you just saw the beginning of the Kingdom Hearts part. Basically, multiple keybearers in the universe. ; btw Manny is SUPPOSED to be all cheery and a bit fun now, I think...well enjoy, hope for another review. Chapter 3 also is ready...Yes I need a life ; Also forgive me if I got the background on heartless wrong, I didn't pay all that much attention to that part in KH1.**


	3. Understanding

**Disclaimer: I do not own KH or Ice Age, just Mile. xD**

**Chapter 3: Understanding**

The herd started their little trek, first down the crevice in the earth. Mile was keeping his eyes peeled as the mammoths walked closed and were whispering to one another. Sid was looking around too, though not for what Mile was looking for. He was pretty much looking for sloth girls. He was hoping he could get lucky, and even see the one that always watched him when he was babysitting. But sadly he has had no luck.

Diego was acting oddest of the group. He kept glancing at Mile, and every time he did, his eyes always seemed sad. Only the smarter of the group and Mile realized why he seemed so sad. Him and Manny guessed it was because Diego got his hopes up, seeing another saber. Mile regretted telling the truth, but Manny had told him.

"You were better off telling the truth. If Diego figured it out sooner, he'd be more depressed."

The mammoth had a good point there. Diego was better off knowing the truth sooner then later on. After a bit of walking, Diego finally seemed to snap out of it, catching up with the rest. Unfortunately he had walked between the mammoths and heard them sweet talking.

"…Such a good idea having us follow the rest of the herds my sweet little Ellie."

"Thanks, and you know you were really brave back there, my hero…"

"Aw your too much…" He then started to nuzzle cheeks with his girl, making Diego quickly backed up, till he was walking alongside Mile. The darker saber chuckled.

"Its actually kind of cute, listening to it…" He said. Diego chuckled slightly.

"Depends on what you mean by cute." He said back. The two chuckled a bit. Looked like Diego could see Mile eye-to-eye without wincing, but Mile didn't know how come he changed his view on him so fast. Sid laughed.

"Manny and Ellie sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N…"

And unfortunately to the possums, sabers, and sloth that was near, Manny finished with a mischievous look.

"G." He then kissed Ellie. She grinned and kissed back. Everyone fell back on their rears, even Mile. He exclaimed.

"Well I didn't see THAT coming!" He laughed. Diego laughed as well, then Crash, then Eddie. Only Sid seemed to hold his hands over his mouth.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" Everyone laughed some more, and then started to continue their trek. Diego glanced at Mile, and frowned a bit.

"Hey, sorry for…well acting all weird back there." Mile glanced at the saber.

"No need to apologize, you just were hoping for other sabers, weren't you…"

Diego nodded. It was more then obvious now, he was lonely. Manny glanced back at the two sabers and smiled a bit, trying to listen in.

"Your right…I was hoping you were…well…" Diego grumbled slightly. Mile smiled softly.

"Well…we can still consider each other brothers, you know, look after each other's backs. After-all…we're both sabers." He grinned. Diego then chuckled a bit.

"Its not the same…" He admitted. He then paused, then continued.

"But I guess I could give it a go." He said. Mile smiled and nodded. Manny also smiled, seeing the two sabers finally came to an understanding. Ellie glanced at her boyfriend.

"What're you so smiling about?" He smiled at her.

"Just…glad everyone's at an understanding." She then realized what he was talking about as she looked back at the two tigers, who were now peacefully chatting along with a few sarcastic remarks from Sid. They even overheard a bit humorous talk.

"I'm just glad those little sloths didn't follow me." He exclaimed.

"Wait a minute. Weren't you the one who told them where we were headed?" Diego asked. Sid's eyes widened, he then bonked his head.

"Ohh I forgot about that…" Mile laughed a bit.

"Nice." Him and Diego nodded, then continued walking, leaving Sid who was on Mile's back, in a pickle. He muttered softly to himself.

"Got to make sure they don't catch me, Fire God does NOT want to be sacrificed again…"

Mile laughed a bit, and smiled. The Sloth's predicament amused him greatly, and oddly liked to see Sid squirm. But he decided to give a bit of humorous feedback.

"Play dead next time they come around."

"Nah, they'll probably start playing around with his 'dead' body. Maybe eat him. Who knows, maybe they eat their gods after killing them." Diego teased. Sid gulped, making Mile laugh a bit.

"Maybe." Mile repeated, smiling at Diego. They seemed to be seeing eye to eye. Diego smiled back, then said.

"I guess seeing you as a brother won't be so hard after-all." Mile nodded.

"Nope, shouldn't." Then they realized, they were following way behind the herd. It was confirmed when Manny yelled back to them.

"C'mon slowpokes, keep up!" The two sabers, glanced at each other, then sprinted up to the rest of the pack. Ellie smiled as her possum brothers swung around on her tusks, seeing Manny wanting to chat with his friends for a little bit.

"So…" Manny looked at the two sabers. Diego chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not going to have a massive case of depression."

"And I'm not going to be all stressed because I can't figure out why he's having a massive case of depression." Mile added with a slight snort. The mammoth laughed a bit.

"Well you don't have to be smart-asses about it." They all got in a good laugh, while the mammoth just noticed.

"Aw what do you know, looks like our little friend is asleep." He said, looking at the now snoring Sid.

"Looks good enough to eat." Mile grinned. Diego was the only one who got it and the only one who snickered, leaving only Manny in the dark for a short while. After a bit though, he finally got it and chuckled. Diego teased.

"JUST figured it out?"

"Yeah yeah, have your laugh Diego. I can skin you and then have YOU for dinner. Maybe have Mile for dessert." He gave a bit of a mischievous look at his tiger friends. Mile grinned.

"You can try!" The two sabers sprinted on, though Manny smiled, sure as hell not going to chase them around yet. He rather would NOT want to run into any unsuspecting animals. But it was nice to see his friends so happy. He looked over at Ellie and the possum brothers who were now rolling around tackling each other.

"My funny shaped rock!" Crash yelled. Eddie rolled on top.

"Mine!" He countered. They continued wrestling while Ellie looked over her shoulder and giggled. It was just then she noticed Manny catching up, and she smiled. It pleased her so much to see her guy so happy, especially when its even BEFORE they start talking, which is when he gets REALLY happy.

Manny was also happy to see her smile. It always warmed him and made him melt inside when he saw her so cheerful and enthusiastic. He had found it a bit annoying at first, and the whole thinking she was a possum bit really gave him a headache, but now he actually finds it somewhat adorable.

"So we don't have to separate them." She guessed. Manny nodded and smiled.

"Nope." He then locked trunks with her and nuzzled cheeks. She nuzzled back.

"That's good…and your so great." She smiled.

"Not as great as you sugarlump." He then started kissing her on the cheek over and over. She giggled and did a soft trumpet sound with her trunk, and then let Manny continue giving her kisses.

It was going to be a long day for everyone, but a nice one.

**Author's PN: Well here's Chapter 3 as promised. Yes, Manny is overdoin it with the flirtyness XD I will control itchapter 4, do something to reduce overfluffiness. XP But Chapter 4 is going to take longer to get up, due to fact I just started writing it. But I hope you can control stomach in this. Heh heh...**


	4. Tiger Fever

**Disclaimer: Gah this is getting kind of old. Heh, I only own Mile, nothing else. Well I guess I sort of made the tiger heartless idea...**

**Chapter 4: Tiger Fever**

It was becoming late afternoon, and it seemed the passage the herds were heading down wasn't shortening or widening anytime soon. Sid moaned and groaned, going…

"God when will it enddd! Its like following the light…WITHOUT the light!" He complained some more, and Diego groaned too, but more tiresome then bored.

"Will you stop complaining! We'll get there when we get there!" He said without a second look at the sloth. Sid stayed silent for a bit, then rebuked.

"But where are we going?" He asked. Mile thought up of something quick before the little sloth became tiger chow.

"Out of this fishbowl, good enough? Okay, good." He said almost hurriedly. Diego looked at Mile, getting why he was rushing with his sentence, but still grumbled. He and Sid were pals, but the sloth got on his nerves a lot. It was then the mammoth was getting a little ticked, and he looked back on the three.

"How bout both of you just PIPE, DOWN. Your making a scene." He got back to walking alongside Ellie, who also glanced at the sabers and sloth. Crash and Eddie then crawled up onto Ellie's back and grinned down at them.

"Mis-"

"Fits!" Eddie finished for his brother, laughing a bit. Diego shook his head slightly, not letting it get to his head as he continued walking along with his friend. It was then a shriek was heard, more or less from another sloth. Sid's eyes perked, and he exclaimed.

"A Sloth!" He seemed a bit happy and worried at the same time, and Mile came forward in front of the group, keyblade shining and appearing in his mouth. He knew danger when it came, and he was right. All of a sudden a few creatures appeared in front of him. Heartless, but of a different kind. They kind of resembled…tigers.

"More…?" Diego's eyes glared from one to another, there were exactly three. Sid gulped.

"Me and…" He gulped again. "Sharp teeth don't do well." Diego grinned slightly at the sloth.

"Then how come you and me get along SOOO well." He said back. Sid wanted to mimic the saber, but he was too transfixed on the scene in front of him. Mile growled, then came forward, about to slash one of the tiger heartless, but it quickly skid to the side, and slashed at the saber. It connected, and three claw marks appeared on Mile's side. He hissed and skidded back. He then jumped forward, and this time went over the heartless and let the keyblade cut across the top. It did a almost sketchy roar, and then 'poof,' it sank into the ground.

But Mile didn't hear another approaching from behind him, luckily a rock that hit the tiger heartless in the head drew its attention away, to the thrower of the rock, the sloth. Sid's knees were shaking furiously as he put up his arms in defense.

"P-P-Put up your dukes." He croaked out. The heartless then charged at him, but was slammed into by the tusk of Manny as the mammoth groaned.

"Sid you idiot!" The heartless slammed into the crevice wall, and fell to the ground, but still there, struggling to its feet. Which was then it was crushed by Ellie's foot. She couldn't believe she done that, her eyes were wide too, and afterwards, legs shaking, but the second heartless was gone. Manny grinned, pretty impressed.

"Nice footwork!" He complimented. She nodded and smiled, feeling a bit better, though eyes now transfixed on the third tiger heartless being cornered by the two sabers. It roared, and then came at the keybearer. It was the Diego slammed into the heartless side, and it tumbled back a bit. But it got its bearings and was able to slam a dark paw into Diego's maw, making him growl and back up slightly. Mile glanced at his friend, then by pulling back his head and at the right angle, flung his keyblade straight into the heartless, in the direct center. It screeched for a moment, stopped, then the two halves fell and sank into the ground, obviously defeated.

The keyblade came back to Mile, and he caught it in his teeth, still ready to fight if need be, but it seemed clear. It was then his attention was turned to his saber friend. He dropped the keyblade from his mouth, it disappearing as Mile came to his friend who winced at his injuries.

"You alright?" Diego asked. Mile nodded, then looked at the wound. It didn't seem too bad, it was identical to his own. But he didn't see Diego get slashed…

"You guys okay?" The slightly shivering sloth asked. Both Mile and Diego nodded, then looked at Manny and Ellie. The two mammoths nodded, them slightly less phased though still a bit off from the surprise fight. It was then the keybearer spoke.

"Guessing this is enemy territory…" He said. Manny glared.

"Enemy territory! You mean we were stepping right into the hornet's nest!" Ellie glanced at her boyfriend.

"Hun, calm down…I'm sure he didn't know…" She glanced at the dark colored saber. "Right?" Her voice sounded more stern. Mile nodded, not taken aback too hard by the mammoth's somewhat cold glares.

"Promise…but I can't promise that will be the last encounter. This world is full of heartless, I need to find the…" He stopped. The two possums glanced at him.

"Find what?" They asked in unison, curious. Mile sighed. It looked like it couldn't wait any longer.

"See…there's this thing called err…a keyhole, kind of like something my blade could fit in. I lock it, and then this place should be near heartless free." He explained.

"Near? Don't you mean all?" Manny wondered. But the saber shook its head.

"No, I mean near. Darkness resides in everyone's heart, mine, Diego's, Sid, even yours. As long as there's darkness in one's heart, the heartless can't be fully beaten." He continued. Sid sniffed.

"That's a…sad story…" His sniffling was real, until he snapped his fingers. "Wait a minute, I never done anything wrong, I'm safe!" Manny and Diego couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah right!" Diego snickered. Manny smirked.

"How bout when you were hitting on those two female sloth's. Looks like you were really getting it on with them." Mile gave a pretend wink, and everyone pretty much burst into laughter. Sid blushed and then turned his head, and with a 'humph,' said,

"They couldn't keep their eyes off me!" He said, hoping it was a decent recoil. But Mile only sniggered.

"Or noses. Whew!" He teased. Sid sniffed his armpits, then grimaced.

"Well…maybe I am due for a rinse…" He murmured. Everyone, including the sloth laughed a bit more, then joking aside, glanced at Mile. He nodded, then led forward, letting the keyblade reappear in his mouth. Manny came up to his side and Diego to his other. They all gave glances to each other and nodded. They would be the main force. Sid of course, probably would be the distraction, and the female and possums would or could stay back. But it was their decision. Mile smiled to himself, looks like he made some really good friends within a short time. And that was a good thing. In this fight, he needs friends like Manny and Diego.

Then…a stomach growled, and the three looked back at the only possible animal who could've made such a loud sound. Sid looked up, and shrugged with a innocent look.

"What?" They chuckled, turned around, then as the animals who were done having their heart attacks clear out, they gasped. The land…it was…

"Green!" Crash cried out.

"Lots of trees and mud!" Eddie exclaimed. Ellie and Manny looked on in amaze, the sloth too. Mile smiled, it was a semi-clear grasslands, going out for miles. It seemed there was fog gathering in a few areas around the zone but other then that, the orange light that engulfed them from above made it look so beautiful.

"Wow…" Diego whistled. Mile continued smiling.

"I seen a lot of other worlds, but this view beats them all…" He murmured. Sid waddled up between the sabers.

"What were the other worlds like?" The curious sloth asked. Mile grinned.

"Well…hard to explain…how bout I tell you guys all about them when we find somewhere to rest. It'll be getting dark soon." He directed this at all his new herd. They all nodded and beamed down at the saber, interested in his adventures. They then went down to the grassy plains along with the others, looking for a separate space to stay. They then found a nice spot with a rock formation surrounding it, and started heading over. Sid yawned slightly, but was still up and at em, looking up at the others. Ellie looked down at the sloth.

"Tired little guy?" She asked, ready to offer him a resting spot on her back. He shook his head in denial.

"No no, just a…err…cough. Yeah that's it!" Of all his lamest excuses, that was one of his worse ones yet. But Ellie simply agreed with him and continued on till they were all there. It was then they realized the moon was coming up, and everyone was settling.

"So…this seem like a good spot to rest?" Manny looked at the others as he asked this. They all nodded in agreement.

"Yeah this looks fine. Seems like a nice place to settle too." He commented.

"Let's not make big decisions yet. Let's wait till tomorrow, besides, I got some stories to tell!" Mile said. They all seemed okay with it, and then got in a circle. Manny and Ellie of course were cuddled together, and Sid was resting on a nearby stump. Diego sat down and Mile on the opposite side, then looked around. He then smiled.

"Well then, time to tell my story."

**Author's PN: Well enjoy, I looked over reviews, decided to try and change some words so there's more of a variety. And this is a bit longer then my other chapters. I also worked on making Manny act more in character. Well I already got ideas for Chapter 5, I'm glad you guys like this story, makes me happy to write more. Well enjoy!**

**PS: Yes, Sid got a little rock throwing action. >> BOOYAH TO THE SID FANS!**


	5. Reminisce

**Disclaimer: Only own Mile. xD Not Ice Age or Kingdom Hearts**

**Chapter 5: Reminisce**

"So…where to begin…" Mile asked himself softly. Sid was sitting, eager to hear the stories of his adventures. The saber softly took a breath, then smiled.

"Okay, I know exactly where to start. Basically my first little adventure…of all the dang places I end up going to I go to that heart-stopper of a world…" Mile said the last part to himself. Manny raised an eyebrow, and the saber coughed.

"Alright I'll get to the chase."

_---Flashback---_

_Mile, 15 years old, went down the steps to the plaza of Halloween Town, looking around. The skulls and pumpkins all around gave him the impression of Halloween all over again, but it still gave him the creeps. He brushed some of his long, black hair out of his eyes and looked around._

_"Geez this place is a bit…" Before he could finish, a slightly cheery voice from behind finished._

_"Creepy?" Mile jumped forward, spooked like hell as he turned around. But it was only to be greeted by a walking skeleton with some black clothes and garments. Mile's breath left him for a bit, but then came out a scream of terror._

_"AHHHHH!" He then fell over, pretty much near a state of shock…_

_---End Flashback---_

Sid laughed, finding it a bit amusing from Mile's fright from before. He glared.

"What's so funny?" He asked. Manny rolled his eyes slightly and looked at Mile.

"Don't mind him, his definition of 'scary' is only when HE'S the one involved." Sid looked up at the mammoth, then crossed his arms.

"I don't get scared…well, actually…" Due to confusing himself, Sid quickly went silent, and Diego looked at his friend.

"Go ahead." Mile nodded, ready to continue.

_---Flashback---_

_Mile awoke, seeing that he was laying on a bit uncomfortable bed. He started sitting up, and then blushed to himself._

_"Did I faint? Nah…" He told himself, but then the same voice he heard before spoke, and he realized the skeleton guy was hovering over him…and by that I mean a few feet higher then even if Mile was standing._

_"You did, right on the town square. I had to carry you into Dr. Finkelstein's lab and lay you down. By the way, I'm…" Before he could finish, Mile yelled._

_"Skeleton!" The skeleton frowned._

_"Hey we have feelings to you know…and my name's Jack Skellington." He extended a bony hand, and Mile shakily shook it. _

_"Err…I'm Mile…" He greeted Jack. He nodded._

_"Nice to meet you. Now if you'll excuse me…" Jack turned and started to head for the door, but Mile jumped back on his feet._

_"Wait a minute! Have you seen anything that resembled like black blobs? Or had piercing eyes?" He questioned the skeleton. Jack looked back at him, then nodded with a smile. _

_"Yeah, there were some hanging around the town square. Kids these days pick the weirdest Halloween costumes." He commented. The keybearer shook his head._

_"Those weren't kids…" He tried to explain, but it took quite a while to reason with Jack. But finally after Mile explained for the near 7th time, the skeleton understood._

_"Oh my, things that come from people's hearts?" He asked. Mile groaned._

_"YES! That's what I been trying to tell you!" He then glanced around, but when he looked into the mirror, he almost fell back. His appearance was utterly different then what it was in other words. He had a few streaks of black across his face, and seemed like he had Dracula teeth to boot with his still medium-long black hair. His outfit was also composed of nothing but black, with a few red streaks along the pant legs. His blue eyes gazed into the mirror for a while, but then he slowly looked to Jack._

_"Can you take me to the town square?" He asked. Jack looked as Mile confusingly, then nodded._

_"Okay, but its just out the door…" He then led Mile outside, where a few shadow heartless appeared. Mile extended his hand out and let the keyblade appear in his hand. He then got in a stance while Jack got ready too._

_"Beware evildoers!" He exclaimed. The boy's head drooped._

_"What, now you're a superhero or something?" He then came forward and started slashing at the heartless, doing a variety of tricks along with it as he avoiding the shadow heartless lunges. Jack also helped, extending his hand back and throwing it forward, smashing heartless to pieces. It only took a bit of time before most of them were exterminated, the rest hightailed it out of there, leaving Mile running for them._

_"Come back here…!"_

_---End Flashback---_

"Well after a bit of running and chasing, finally I found them running to this big old…well house." Mile was telling his story. They were all pretty into this story, though confused on what a house was. After a quick explanation that it was kind of like a campsite but way bigger, the saber/human continued his story…

_---Flashback---_

_Mile panted as he came up to the door, Jack right behind. He then warned._

_"This is Oogie's place…" Mile shrugged._

_"What, is Oogie some ghost who hasn't been put to rest?" He joked. But Jack wasn't laughing, and he explained somewhat shortly._

_"Actually…he's pretty much a walking sack full of bugs." Mile lifted an eyebrow. That was an interesting description, but then again, he was talking to a skeleton, so yeah._

_---End Flashback---_

Mile stopped, then chuckled, and continued. He explained on how Oogie Boogie was someone who was say, revived from 'extinction' and was trying to rule that world. But Mile and Jack took care of him. He took care with details about the fight, and Diego, Sid, and the possums were deeply intrigued. Sid then grinned.

"Wow you kicked a lot of butt didn't ya?" Mile nodded and grinned also, his teeth shimmering slightly.

"Yup, after we took care of him, I had to lead on my ship to another world, since I found the keyhole. I don't need to explain what that is right?" Everyone shook their head, and Diego looked at Mile.

"You had a lot of adventure didn't you?" He asked, though it was obvious. Mile nodded.

"Yeah…though some of the adventures kind of creep me out, especially when it came to physical appearance…"

_---Flashback---_

_"WHOA!" Mile fell to the grassy grounds, seemingly was ejected from his gummi ship. He slowly worked himself back on his feet, but he then fell back on his rear. It felt odd somehow, like something was off._

_"What the…I can't stand straight…" He then looked down at his feet, and to his horror and shock, instead of shows or five toes, he had three toes and sharp nails, and instead of pants, he was pretty much bare. But on bright side, he had silver fur to cover himself…_

_"Wait, fur!" He cried out, and jumped up on his feet. He nearly fell over again, but this time managed to keep his balance as he looked down at his body. He then looked forward, then above him. Another thing was off, everything was near bigger then him, if not only a FEW things being AS tall. And another thing was off…there was a rustle in the bushes._

_"Who's there?" Mile quickly yelled as he turned, being sure not to fall again. A blue figure then jumped out, going._

_"Meega nala queesta!" Mile jumped back, letting the keyblade appear as he gripped it with two hands. The blue alien stopped, looked at the blade, then spoke out._

_"Sora?" He asked. Mile looked curious, then shook his head, seeing this thing was asking about the original and greatest keyblade master._

_"No I'm not Sora, I'm Mile, another keyblade wielder." He said. The alien then came forward and hugged Mile, making him squirm and gasp out. This guy was strong!_

_"You came to help!" He cried out._

_"Y-Yeah! Now could you put me down? I can't breathe…!" The alien did as he was told, then laughed weirdly._

_"Soka!" He said. Mile glanced oddly at the alien, then asked._

_"Do you have a name?" His ears twitched, and Mile glanced upwards, he realized HIS ears were twitching! He was slightly disturbed by that, but attention came back to the blue guy as he spoke._

_"My name Stitch, and yours?" _

_"I'm Mile." He said, nodding slightly. Stitch smiled._

_"Mile…Mile come to help my world!"_

_---End Flashback---_

"Wow…aliens? You know, I saw a alien spaceship when we were in some ice caverns, remember Manny?" Sid looked at his mammoth friend. Manny turned his head slightly and nodded his head, though barely remembered. That adventure was a long time ago, and when he could barely take the sloth OR Diego. Mile then continued his story, up to the point where him, Stitch, and his little Hawaiian girl beating a shark-like alien and saving that world.

He then continued on with a few other stories, up to the point where his ship was flying above this world.

"You see…I kind of got shot by a heartless ship, and crash-landed into some ice caverns. Those same caverns with things frozen and the really crazy slide." Sid grinned.

"Aw yes…the slides…good memories eh guys?" Diego chuckled and nodded.

"I just realized Manny, I never did say sorry bout stabbing your posterior." Manny laughed somewhat, then nodded.

"Its fine, long time ago." He said. Mile then continued.

"Basically, I traveled around till I found a way out, then noticed a whole bunch of herds. I asked what was going on, and they said their friends told them to meet them where a whole bunch of other packs were at. I decided to follow, but at a higher viewpoint, and then I end up finding myself at the end of the crevice, and seeing all of you guys." Mile took a breath. The saber took a long time in explaining.

"Guess we should be thankful you weren't in another spot when those heartless attacked us." Diego commented. Sid nodded.

"We would've been chop liver." He added. Mile snickered slightly.

"Yeah, maybe…well I should also add this…a lot of time passed since I went to the worlds I told you about. Lately, we've decided at least one keybearer should stay on a world each, to be safe."

"So…you staying here?" The sloth asked. Manny glanced at Sid.

"Hush."

"But why?" He asked. Mile then wondered for a bit. There were a whole lot of worlds to choose from, but this one seemed most suitable. But then…he wouldn't have his human body, his hands, his feet, clothes. He'd be stuck as a saber. But then, his thoughts ran to this group.

They've treated him really nicely, let him stay with the pack, even though he was slightly against it. Diego thinks of him as a brother, and Mile was actually starting to think the same way. Diego's eyes moved away too.

"We…should get some sleep." The mammoth suggested. Ellie was already curling up, used to sleeping on the ground now. The possums crawled up to the trees and hung from their tails, already dozing off. Mile then laid down as well, curling up.

"Maybe…" The word came out of nowhere from his mouth. The three still awake mammals looked at him curiously, but already noticed he starting to doze off. Sid then looked to his saber friend, who seemed a bit sad about something.

"Hey Diego, you okay?" He asked. Diego looked at the sloth, and nodded slowly.

"Yeah…just fine." He responded. Manny then looked at the two.

"Well time for some shut eye…night." He then cuddled up to Ellie, who smiled more in her sleep, and then zonked out too. The sloth found a comfy rock, then stretched across it, closing his eyes and sucking his thumb a little. Only the saber was awake now, and he slightly prayed his friend could stay before dozing off too, his face away from the others.

**Author's PN: Well...Chapter 5 came up a bit earlier then expected. Mostly flashbacks about Mile's adventures. I wanted to put it up soon because I wanted to note I am going on a trip and won't be back till next week on the 12th. I'll be leaving in two days. But I wanted to satisfy some readers first. Well I hope you enjoy this.**

**Note: By the way,Mile's real appearance is pretty much a small black jacket, a white shirt, black jeans with red streaks on the pant legs, big black and red shoes. He has medium-long black hair and blue eyes. Straightforward, but hey, this story is mostly about him as a dark colored saber.**


	6. Downsides

**Disclaimer: I don't own anybody except Mile. And I do not own Ice Age or Kingdom Hearts. Man this is getting a bit old. XD**

**Chapter 6: Downsides**

Diego awoke suddenly in the middle of the night, his head shooting up as if he was having a bad dream. But it wasn't that, a little while ago, he had awoke to some odd sounds, and this time they were louder. He looked at his friends. All of them were fast asleep, not even the least bit bothered. He then started to lay back down until suddenly, there was some sounds of movements from behind.

"What the?" He quickly spun around. The lack of sun and light made it a bit difficult for Diego to see, but he could have sworn he saw something move behind the rocks. Now he was sure, something was there. He then came up to Mile and shook him slightly, making him grumble.

"Mm…what is it…?" He asked, not knowing who roused him from his slumber. Diego then made a quick shushing sound and whispered in Mile's ear.

"Someone's here, time for a little stalking action." He added the last part in with a little sarcasm, though he did want to know who was there. Mile then awoke completely, getting up silently and nodding to his saber friend. He didn't know what was going on, but he let his key blade appear in his mouth. Diego then led in the front, slowly peeking behind one of the rock formations. It was then he saw some more movement, and Mile heard it too. He quickly circled around the other side, only to get knocked back. He grunted slightly.

"Diego, get everyone up!" Mile ordered, getting ready to attack. Diego nodded and ran up to the nearest sleeping mammal, which was the sloth and shook him to wake him up.

"What, what mom…" He then jumped up as Diego pretended to chomp at him. It took a moment for Sid to realize what was going on as Mile was attempting to slash at the mysterious creature. It kept stretching and avoiding the attacks, making the keybearer growl more as he continued his wild attacks.

"We got to wake up the others and help Mile." Diego said, running up to Mile and Ellie and shaking them till they started to wake. As Sid climbed up the tree to the possums, he screamed as another of those stretchy creatures appeared in front of him. Diego swiftly dashed underneath Sid and yelled.

"Jump!" The yell alone was not only enough for Sid to react and drop onto the tiger's back, but awaken Crash and Eddie too. They screeched then jumped onto the tiger's back too, and Diego quickly sprinted over to Manny and Ellie, who just got up, startled.

"This isn't good." Manny muttered as Mile was once more smacked and driven back. A stretched fist then slammed into his face, making him howl and tumble back in front of the mammals.

"Mile!" Diego, as the smaller ones jumped off of his back, ran up to his aid, slashing at the creatures who were trying to close in on the keyblade wielder. They didn't make a sound other then a hiss as they slashed at Diego. But he didn't lose any ground, and as he slid back to avoid the attacks, he pounced at them, making them jump back.

Mile slowly got back on his feet, somewhat taken back by those attacks. The heartless were apparently getting stronger. But he couldn't think how they were getting this strong, all he had in mind was helping Diego. Manny came forward in front of the sabers and slashed at the creatures. They were almost direct hits, but they stretched back, only get cut slightly. They hissed some more, then slammed their hands into the mammoth's face, making him grunt and shake his head slightly.

"Mile, we got to…" Mile quickly got the idea of how Diego's sentence was going to finish, and he glared.

"No, I'm not retreating…but you guys should. Get out of here." He then came forward slashing at the creatures. Luckily one was hit, and hissed and disappeared as quickly as it came. His eyes swiftly moved from the remaining two, and then his ears were overwhelmed slightly by a trumpet sound as Manny slammed into them. One managed to stretch and slide away from the mammoth, but the other was crushed as Manny slammed it into one of the huge rock formations. Ellie was relieved to see the third starting to retreat, but Mile wouldn't have that. He sprinted for it as he yelled.

"Come back here!" This was just like the scenario at Halloween Town, either way he was going to lose sight of the creature. But he didn't want to give up, until he heard Diego's voice from afar.

"Mile come back, we can't chase it in the dark!"

Mile sighed, because Diego was right. Chasing it in the dark would be trying to find a needle in a haystack. So he slowly made his way back, to see Sid fainted. He asked with worry.

"What happened to him?" Manny glanced at Mile and managed a weak smile.

"Its fine, Sid's just unconscious…what about you?" The mammoth asked. Mile shook his head, a sign that Manny didn't have to worry. Though they all were more then worried. Those creatures seemed even stronger then the heartless, and if they weren't heartless, what were they?

Then came a hard shudder from Ellie.

"Those things…weren't normal." She commented. Crash and Eddie poked their heads from behind her feet.

"Those white faces! Ugly, but scary!" Crash exclaimed. Mile's eyes widened a bit, then shook his head to himself. They couldn't be what he thought they were. Activity from the mysterious Organization hasn't been heard from for a long time. They were exterminated…or were they…

"You alright?" Diego asked, slightly worried bout Mile's pale look. He shivered, then nodded.

"Y-Yeah…just thought…I had an idea what they were from Crash…" He replied. The saber looked at him curiously.

"What do you think they were?" He asked. Mile glanced at Diego, then shook his head.

"Forget about it." He started walking, but then Diego moved in front of Mile.

"No I won't forget about it, they almost killed you and Manny, now tell me Mile!" There seemed to be a bit of anger in his voice, and Mile was slightly shook by it, but he continued shaking his head.

"No…not them…not…Nobodies…" He muttered. Diego was confused.

"Nobodies? What are nobodies?" He asked. But then the saber noticed something in Mile's eyes…sadness. He then quickly backed off the subject, not wanting to push Mile so hard that the sadness grew. Diego then looked at the sloth, who was starting to awake. Sid quickly jumped up as quickly as he had fainted a while ago.

"Okay okay lemme at them! I'll show those weirdoes of the animal kingdom a little one-two beat them down, Sid action!" He exclaimed loud. But when he saw there were none of those mysterious creatures to be seen, he slumped.

"Aw man, they're gone…" Manny looked at Sid.

"Sid…" He started, but the sloth nodded his head slowly.

"I know…why hide it?" He slumped more. "I WAS scared." He admitted freely. Most were surprised to hear Sid admitting the truth, especially about being scared, but they all were really. Mile then looked at the group with certain determination.

"Okay guys…sun's coming up. You guys should stay here, I'm going to track that No…creature down." He said. Diego chuckled, and the dark saber glanced at him.

"What's so funny?" He asked. Diego smiled.

"When will you learn…" He started. Manny came up to Mile next, and smiled.

"We're one big family…we got to look out for each other." He said softly. Sid also smiled and waddled forward.

"Yeah, we'll back you up…course I'd rather be at the sidelines going," Sid then started jumping up with a cheery look, continuing.

"YEAH! KICK THAT HEARTLESS'S BUTT! 2, 4, 6, 8!" He then tripped over his own feet, making the sloth grumble and get up. Mile chuckled.

"Not exactly cheerleader material Sid but…thanks. Thanks all of you." He looked at each of them. They all gave him smiles of encouragement. Diego then looked at everyone.

"Well, let's head out then! We got a heartless to catch!" They all agreed, and started to follow Mile and Diego, who decided to take the lead. The mammoths were in the back, and Manny looked at Ellie with some worry in his eyes. She glanced, and realized what he was thinking, then said sternly.

"No I'm not staying behind…I can hold my own." She said, smiling. Manny nodded slightly, and locked trunks with Ellie.

"I believe you." He told her. And it was true, he knew she was a strong mammoth, and brave…and courageous…

He started to daydream a bit, and Ellie laughed a bit.

"You okay" Manny blushed and nodded his head.

"Y-Yeah!" He exclaimed. The group then headed for where the fog was building up the most…

---A Bit Later---

The herd continued their walk, the sun slowly beginning to rise. But it wasn't late enough that the other packs would be awake, so the group moved quietly, making sure not to wake anyone up. But apparently, as they neared the entrance of their destination, Manny spotted a baby rhino sipping from a very small pond of water. Its parents were also standing near, and they sighed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The mammoth asked. The rhinos were startled as they turned around, but sighed in relief as they recognized the big oaf. The father then replied.

"Just upset…this land doesn't have much in water. And food…we might have to hunt ourselves!" He responded with minor sarcasm. Manny looked around. It was beautiful, the land…but the rhinos were right, he didn't see a spot of water or a stream around…and there weren't nothing much other then berries, and a few old animals that seemed to have passed on. Sid looked around too.

"Geez the rhino's right, this place is empty." The sloth said. Diego nodded.

"I actually agree with both the rhino and the sloth…I doubt we could live here any less then one or two days before we need more food and water." He looked at his mammoth companion. Mile was silent, and he then heard yells of glee, and he looked up to notice the possum brothers Crash and Eddie making those sounds of happiness.

"Look Crash look!" Eddie exclaimed.

"I know, more possums!" Crash cried out with joy. Ellie looked up and to her amaze, there was a whole bunch of possums playing around in the few tress that stood in these plains. Crash and Eddie jumped down and was about to join them, but then looked to Ellie. She smiled softly, though it was hard to say what she was about to, she didn't want them to get hurt, and this could be their chance. After-all, the little mating ritual for them isn't far off.

"Go.." Ellie said softly, nodding her head towards the direction of the possums. Eddie looked at her sadly.

"You sure? But what about…" He started, but the she moth (SP?) still nodded her head. Crash sniffed, then did the peace sign.

"We'll come to help you soon sis." With that he headed off, leaving Eddie to look up at her. Ellie came forward, gently stroking the back of his head with her trunk, then told him.

"Go on Eddie…I'll be fine, and I'll meet up with you guys later. I want to go with Manny…is that okay with you?" She asked gently. Eddie nodded, then hugged Ellie's trunk before scampering off, leaving her to turn and quietly walk away. Manny looked at her with concern, and came walking by her side.

"You…going to be okay Ellie?" He asked. She nodded her head, and locked her trunk with his.

"Yeah…I will be, long as you stay with me." She told him. Manny beamed at her.

"Of course." He did a soft trumpet with his horn, then continued on. Sid sat on Mile's back, looking around. He then took a branch with a leaf on it and snacked on it slightly. Diego looked at his saber friend.

"I don't know what we should do, the whole food and water thing…" He confessed. This time he didn't have a solution, and he was guessing Manny didn't either. Mile thought for a bit, then replied with a bit of uncertainty.

"Let's worry about it when we get back…or if we come to a solution on our trip. Who knows, maybe our mammoth friend will come up with a plan." Sid munched on the leaf a while longer, then said.

"Manny always comes up with a plan, he and Diego are the smartest guys I know!" He said, full of heart. Diego couldn't help but feel happy from the sloth's compliment, and responded.

"Thanks Sid." Sid smiled.

"No problem buddy." The two sabers caught up with the mammoths, who stopped after the long walk, their eyes transfixed ahead of them. Mile also stared…

It was nothing but dense fog ahead…

**Author's PN: Well enjoy, I finished Chapter 6 early. I saw Ice Age 2 today, so I had a lot of inspiration. I'm leaving tommorow though, pretty much no chance of finishing or getting close to finishing Chapter 7 today. But enjoy!**


	7. The Fog

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything except the idea of mammoth heartless, and Mile.**

**Chapter 7: The Fog**

"Its…nothing but thick fog." Manny said. The others nodded, and Mile came forward. It seemed possible, going through, but the others don't have that good of eyesight in this kind of condition. It would've helped if Crash and Eddie were here, but they weren't, so the keybearer had to think of an alternate solution. Well, not just him of course, but still, the solution had to be thought of. They couldn't just waltz right in, they could be running into a trap for all they knew.

"Maybe one of us should scout ahead." Diego suggested, but some disagreed.

"But one of us could get lost…or worse." Sid gulped as he made his comment clear. Diego went silent too, the sloth had a point. There wasn't any purpose in sending one of them to their deaths. Ellie then asked her own little question.

"Anyway to clear some of the fog?" It seemed a bit ridiculous, but at the same time, an okay idea. But Mile glanced up at her.

"Impossible, there's too much to clear off. The spot we clear would just be replaced." He told her. They all thought hard, but no ideas came to mind. Mile then considered something. He looked at Sid.

"Sid, I know your no possum, but your small. Maybe you could crawl or keep your head low below the fog, make sure you don't see any feet or that we don't run into anything." It was one of Mile's more…'interesting' ideas, but the sloth went along with it.

"Sure I guess, but I'm no dog." He grumbled, then lowered his head. As Mile guessed, Sid could see a bit more clearly, but it wasn't the absolute clearest. But still, it was an okay idea, and Sid looked up at the group.

"Just a straight walk, nothing out of the ordinary…except this fog." He joked. Manny chuckled.

"Thanks for the newsflash." He chuckled more as Sid grinned, and started into the fog. Mile yelled.

"Wait for us!" The rest of the pack ran in, and joined up with Sid as they walked down the narrow passage. It was just like when they were making their way out of the bowl…except Sid made a note that the path widened further down. Ellie shuddered, feeling a bit awkward not only because she didn't know EXACTLY where she was going, but because her brothers weren't there to make any snobby comments, or noises. Manny looked at her gloomy face.

"You alright Ellie? Want me to…" He started, but she smiled weakly.

"I'm fine, just miss Eddie and Crash a little…" She said. Manny wanted to get a second opinion on if she wanted to go back, but remembered that she really wanted to stick with him. He then nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, this'll be over soon." He convinced her. Manny then turned his head, and stumbled a bit. He was a bit startled, and thought he was being tripped, when he yelled.

"Sid!" The sloth looked at Manny.

"Hey I said it was a straight path, maybe you hit your foot against the wall." He said that, trying to make the mammoth consider the possibilities other then fact it could've been his fault. Manny grumbled a bit, but continued on. After a bit, they stopped, letting Sid jump to the ground and duck his head. He then was a bit shocked to see a black shadow moving about.

"We got company." He said simply. Mile growled, and the keyblade appeared in his mouth just as Manny and Diego came to his side. It wouldn't be easy, they weren't sure if the heartless could see well through the fog but either way, they had the disadvantage. They would need Sid's eyes. As the sabers and mammoth looked at him, Sid nodded, and lowered his head down. The shadow heartless slowly formed, along with another set of feet, a tiger heartless. The tiger heartless made no sound, only started sprinting at Manny, the easier target to spot.

"Manny! 12 o'clock!" The sloth yelled. Manny then moved his head to the left, then swung it to the right. His tusk caught something, and he knew it since he just threw whatever he caught into the wall. It roared, and Sid noticed it backed up slightly as the shadow heartless was slivering between Diego and Mile.

"Diego! Mile! Between ya!" He shouted.

"We're right here Sid!" Diego scowled as he jumped back. The two knew they shouldn't attack at once, they might hit each other, though they could see each other at close range. Mile slashed down at the ground, and smirked as the blade hit its mark. The shadow heartless was history as it splattered and disappeared.

But Sid wasn't able to shout fast enough as the tiger heartless rammed into Mile, making him cry out gently and tumble into Diego. The two sabers quickly fell down, and Manny turned his head to where he heard them fall. He quickly came forward and did a head butt in that direction. But his head only hit the wall, and he was slightly dizzy from the 'off' attack.

"Manny stomp your hind legs down!" Sid told the mammoth. Manny didn't have time to question the sloth, only did as he was told. As his feet slammed down, the tiger heartless growled, a bit of a shockwave coming from the ground. After all, mammoths weren't exactly lightweights. Mile heard the growl easily, and where it came from, and he swung his head and keyblade in the direction he heard it. The heartless screeched, but didn't disappear. Another swing, another hit, and this time, the tiger heartless was down for the count, slowly disappearing. Mile could tell that he defeated the heartless, and he relaxed as he let the keyblade disappear.

"Yay, they're all gone." The sloth told the group. Ellie was a few feet back, and didn't get into the action, she was more-or-less trying to get a good eye view, the same view Sid was getting, but to no avail. She then sighed.

"I wasn't any help at all…" She told herself. The others managed to hear her. Mile and Diego didn't have anything to say, letting Manny do the talking.

"Its alright Ellie, Sid was the only one who could've saw the heartless coming." He told her. He paused, then continued. "By the way…where are you?" He then grunted as he fell over, Ellie apparently moving forward and then falling on top of her boyfriend. Sid was startled by the noise and started to shout.

"Earthquake!" He started to panic, but Diego, who was near, grabbed him by the neck gently.

"Relax, just Manny and Ellie who decided to have a make-out session." He teased them. Mile couldn't help but snort, and Manny glared into nothing.

"We're not making out! We just had a little trip, that's all…" But he couldn't help but like the feeling of Ellie on him. But they slowly and hesitantly got up on their feet, and pretty soon, the group was huddled together again.

"This is getting dangerous…I like it." Diego commented, and Mile laughed.

"Figured you would." He said with a chuckle. Sid on the other hand, gulped then ducked his head down again. He noticed the passage split into two paths up ahead, and told that to the group. Mile thought carefully.

"Hmm…is it less foggy up ahead?" He questioned. Sid looked at Mile and nodded.

"Actually…yeah. We could see each other better, that's for sure." He smiled at the thought. No more walking part blindly for him, or his friends. Ellie beamed, happy as well about that too.

"Well what are we waiting for, an invitation?" She giggled softly. They all started walking again, it was a clear walk, and their visions started to come to again as they noticed the split.

"Well at least I don't have to cramp my neck anymore." The sloth said with joy. Manny then spoke with a bit of uncertainty.

"Don't bet on it…I think the fog starts building up again further down." Sid groaned at the mammoth's remark, but he then cheered up. His help was more important, and he was happy to help too, after all, for once, it was up to the 'Lord Of The Flame.' to get the herd through.

"You can count on me." Sid told them. Mile smiled, then wondered. Which way to go…he then heard a voice.

_"Having trouble? Relax…" _Mile swiftly turned his head and asked aloud.

"Who's there?" Manny, Diego, Sid and Ellie looked at him, wondering who he was talking to. They could tell it wasn't them.

_"Which path seems most clearest in your view…its simple really. Think about it, your smart…"_ The voice seemed to disappear, and Mile scowled.

"Who the hell's there!" Sid patted his friend's back, snapping him back to his senses…somewhat.

"You okay?" The sloth asked.

"Yeah, you were talking to yourself." Diego added. Mile shook his head.

"No I heard…never mind…" He sighed, then looked from path to path. He noticed something alright…the voice was right, it was simple. He then looked up at Manny who looked down with worry.

"Manny, could you bend down so I can climb onto your back?" He asked. The mammoth was confused, but nodded.

"Alright." He bent down as asked. Mile climbed up, careful not to claw Manny's back, and as he ascended back up, Mile clearly noticed, though he had to squint his eyes. The left path seemed to narrow slightly, while the right seemed to expand a little. He then took Manny and Ellie's size into consideration. Their tusks, extending out, might get caught as they walk down the left path, if the path narrowed. So it seemed the solution was taking the right path.

"Okay then," Mile started, jumping to the ground smoothly. He looked at them. "We're heading down the right path…" His ears then perked, same as Diego. Ellie looked at them and their ears curiously.

"Hear something?" She asked. They both nodded.

"Yeah…" Mile looked around a bit, curious and wanting to know what the sound was coming from. It was like a thumping sound, slowly getting louder and louder, till it was as if the ground was shaking. And...it was. Sid gulped.

"What is it?" He asked, a bit in a panic. Everyone though, got the feeling of what was coming up, and Mile was already ready to fight. It was then two, huge black blobs appeared behind the group, and in the middle of the right path. They slowly started to form, and due to the sizes, it was expected to be big.

"I wonder what these nut jobs are..." Diego muttered. Mile was facing one direction at Diego's side while Diego was facing the opposite. Manny was also ready, though moved so Ellie and Sid were in between the team. As the heartless formed, Manny's heart almost stopped. They were slowly forming into a huge form, with two long tusks.

"They're..." He started, but couldn't finish the sentence. As they shaped into their full forms completely, Mile finished.

"Mammoth heartless..." Sid then had to add in a crack comment, maybe to boost morale, or just because he had to say something before he started screaming.

"First Tiger Heartless, now Mammoths, what about a sloth?" Diego glared at Sid.

"Not now..." The saber then glanced up at Manny. His eyes were a bit wide, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to attack if he had to...the two heartless then made a loud trumpet, and Mile yelled.

"Everyone, get ready!"

**Author's PN: Well I'm back, and this chapter was kind of fast edited. I'm determined to take more time on the next few chapters,but I wanted to post this up to give people what they wanted. I'm going to take careful time on the fight scene. Also guys, make sure you glance at the other chapters occasionally, I MIGHT edit them to be more longer and descript. Well enjoy!**


	8. Wooly Danger And Despair

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the idea of mammoth heartless, or Mile.**

**Chapter 8: Wooly Danger And Despair**

The first mammoth that blocked the way the group was going to head down was the first to charge, speeding at the two sabers in its sights. Although mammoths aren't usually that fast, due to the fact these were heartless, it seemed their agility was enhanced. Diego and Mile quickly jumped to the side, but realizing they just opened a path for the heartless to attack Sid and Ellie. But Ellie quickly wrapped her tail around the sloth, and swiftly slid to the side as the mammoth heartless thrust its head up. The monster's tusk missed Ellie by mere inches as she started back up against the rock wall, her eyes transfixing on her boyfriend who was being charged at.

Sid climbed up to Ellie's back just as he yelled. "Manny!" The mammoth hesitated, but then lowered his head, letting his tusks intertwine with the heartless, them starting to get into a power struggle. But it quickly became one-sided, as Manny was slowly being pushed back. The first heartless was also turning towards Manny, and then started to charge from behind. Ellie gasped, closed her eyes hoping the connection didn't come, but something did…however it wasn't Manny and the heartless that clashed…

"Ugh…" A grunt came, and Diego slid across the ground and into the wall next to Ellie and Sid. The sloth immediately jumped down and came up to his fallen friend. He had jumped in the way, and because of the interference, the heartless had made Diego the target instead, and since he was in mid-air and in front of its face, it was easy enough to make the impact painful.

"Diego! Aw come on buddy get up!" Sid cried, shaking the tiger. But Ellie's trunk rested on the sloth's shoulder, and she told him.

"Don't shake him…" He nodded slightly, but can tell, their was fear and confusion in her voice. She was scared that Diego might die. Mile was also shocked by what his friend done, then went into a feral rage, roaring as he rushed at the mammoth heartless who had rammed into Diego, jumping up and slashing its side. It made its loud trumpet sound, but then lashed at Mile with its trunk. He made good footwork, pressing his paws down then leaping over the counter-attack.

As Mile got the heartless attention, Manny's eyes looked at his fallen comrade. He then stared at the heartless in front of him who was slowly, taking his time, to advance on the mammoth. The power struggle had ended when Manny had managed to shove the heartless back, but that was just as Diego took a major risk.

"Manny, damn it pay attention!" Mile's voice snapped him into reality, long enough to realize he was being charged at. He quickly moved out of the way, his tusks ending up slashing a bit of the heartless. It made something similar to a growl sound, then started turning around. Mile then came up the mammoth's side, just as he turned to Ellie. But his eyes shifted enough to see that another heartless was starting to form in the right path. He cursed silently then yelled.

"Ellie, get Diego on your back and carry him and Sid down the left path. Me and Manny will cover you!" He then stared at Manny, with a almost aggravated look. The mammoth nodded silently, then slowly backed up for the left path. Ellie had picked up the sloth and tiger and already started making her way down the path, while more heartless, the shadow heartless, started to form.

"If you guys run into more heartless, stop, and come back to our sides!" Mile yelled down to the frightened pair. They nodded, but continued on with no difficulties as Manny and Mile continued pushing the heartless back. But the problem was that the mammoth heartless that had knocked out Diego in a hit, were advancing quicker. The saber looked up at the mammoth, then down at the shadow heartless attempting to sneak up on him. He growled, then jumped forward, slashing at them. He was putting his life on the line, for Manny who seemed to need help once again. What was wrong with him?

Mile continued slashing and leaping back, avoiding attacks whenever he could. Then by a flash of luck, due to the fact his head started to twist back, he managed to notice the mammoth heartless throwing his head at him, and he quickly ducked down, letting it fly above him, it barely missing him. But he was unlucky enough for one of the shadow heartless to slam into his face. Mile slid back a bit, and yelped as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. He thought for a moment one of the mammoth heartless caught him off guard, but he then realized Manny was the one who picked him up, running to catch up with Ellie who was making the loud trumpet sound. This was the sound he heard, the one that also saved him too.

"This way! I found a cave!" She screamed for them. She then ran on in with the sloth and unconscious. Manny made his way in too, then as they got inside, Mile managed to catch a breath and tell his mammoth comrade.

"Slam your foot into the wall, block the entrance." Though a bit hesitant in being locked into a cave they never explored, Manny slowly took the advice. But as he slammed his foot into the cave wall once…

"Why are we trapping ourselves in here! More might spawn!" He then slammed his foot again, making the rocks start to come down and block the entrance. It was at this time Mile responded.

"Because, the heartless were all popping up from the right path, all spawning from there. I don't think as many will appear here." The cave entrance slowly was filled, no source of light or fog coming through as Sid looked at Diego worriedly.

"Come on…I know I've said this before but, you're a tiger, you can lick this…" He had repeated his words he had said when Diego took the blow for Manny once before, back when they were returning a baby to its family. Manny's mind also flashed back to that point, and he then plummeted onto his belly, making the ground shake slightly. Mile looked back.

"Hey, no need for more rocks coming down." He said softly. Manny then glared a bit, then sighed. The saber looked at him, a bit sadly as he had been too harsh, then came over.

"Man…I'm sorry, just that…" Mile didn't finish, as Manny had continued and finished for him.

"Your worried a lot about Diego…" Mile nodded. He wouldn't know what to do if Diego died. Though they only knew each other a short while, it seemed like decades. Quick, but still, they feel a brotherly bond. His thoughts were cut short as he heard a cough, then a groan. Mile's eyes snapped and shifted to the exhausted Diego, whose eyes fluttered gently. Sid finally started to smile and hopped up.

"Yes he's alive! We're all alive!" He exclaimed happily. Diego's eyes moved up, and the first thing that came into view was Mile. He smiled softly, and Diego smiled back.

"Glad your okay." He said. Diego nodded his head weakly.

"Yeah, me too…" He responded. He then slowly started trying to push up onto his feet, though he still felt a bit disoriented. Manny managed a weak smile as Diego glanced at him, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. All he could think about was how it was his fault, his mistake, his feelings that got in the way and got one of his closest friends hurt. Ellie looked at her boyfriend with worry.

"Manny, you alright…?" Though it seemed a silly question, he didn't show any signs of being alright. But he nodded anyways, and started walking in the only available direction. Mile looked at the mammoth for a bit, then at Diego who was able to get on his paws without too much trouble, though Sid helped a bit.

"Well guys…let's keep moving." His voice sounded uneven, scratchy even, and Mile quickly sprinted up to the fast moving mammoth. His voice was hard as the saber came to his side.

"What do you want." Mile lifted an eyebrow, then asked.

"What's with the attitude." Manny then glared at Mile angrily.

"What do you think! My friend risked and almost lost his life twice because of me! I couldn't do anything back there in that fight, didn't you see?" His voice was loud, though not loud enough that it echoed. Mile shut his eyes, took a breath, then sighed.

"Listen Manny, Diego did what he did because he cared about you. We all have to look out for each other……and I think there's something more to this story." He added the last part in. If he was human, Mile would be crossing his hands, but the mammoth gets the picture, and he chuckled slightly.

"What else would you like to add to my tragic tale. Go ahead…" Mile then smiled slightly.

"See? Just tell me…please." His voice didn't sound like he was begging, though he was starting to get persistent. The mammoth sighed slightly, and then looked down at his friend. It seemed Mile wouldn't stop bothering him till he answered. He looked away and muttered.

"How could I attack my own…" That made Mile realize what was wrong…at least he thought he had an idea. He then told Manny softly.

"Those were heartless Manny…bad guys. They might've looked like mammoths but they aren't, not in the lease." He continued, though it didn't seem the facts were hitting the mammoth just yet. It seemed he was in a bit of a trance, Mile even thinks he didn't hear what he said. This made him a bit angry, and clawed Manny's foot, making him wince and glare.

"What was that for!" He growled. Mile returned Manny's enraged face with one of his own.

"LISTEN! I know you miss your family but enough is enough! You got to move on, you have to let go of your past so you can have a future! How can you expect to get anywhere when you always have to feel remorse about what happened years ago!" He yelled, trying to make sure every word got into the mammoth's head. Sid, Diego and Ellie all looked at Mile, surprised. They didn't expect he could get this angry, this furious.

Manny's eyes widened, it was what Sid said before, when he had thought he wouldn't see Ellie again. And not only did that little sentence tell him to go with Ellie, it reminded him on his parents, his old family that was killed. He remembered they always wanted the best for him…and if they were alive right now…

"If my family was alive right now…they'd want me to be happy…" Manny told himself softly. Mile nodded slightly and continued.

"Now listen…I know going against those mammoth heartless reminds you of your family, and you wouldn't want to fight, but your going to have to. Think of Ellie, think of Sid, and Diego. Crash, Eddie…" Mile looked up into the mammoth's eyes.

"We're all a team…a family. We got to look out for each other, isn't that right guys?" He looked at the others. Sid nodded, smiling bright.

"I kind of know I'm not the brightest, but I'd give my life to protect all you guys. I kind of learned that when Manny saved me…when I couldn't do anything except eat a leaf and watch as he and Diego fought the sabers…" Diego looked at his friend with a soft smile.

"Hey, you helped there. You also helped me with…the water. You helped my conquer my fear." He told his friend. Sid, although had made his speech briefly and full of heart, quickly got back his ever popular grin.

"Guess I did huh? Instead of Sid, Lord Of The Flame, maybe I should be called Sid, the Lord Of The Elements!" He laughed, and he also got some snorts and chuckles too. Diego then looked up at the mammoth.

"Your anything but useless Manny. You saved me a number of times too. From falling into that river of lava…I know you think that…your to blame for me getting hurt so many times, but I was looking out for you, you know…" Diego gulped, not that good with being so deep with his heart.

"I never would've gotten here if it weren't for you, and like the sloth, I'm ready to give it all to protect you guys." He finished. They all then looked at Ellie who came forward and locked trunks with Manny. He looked into her eyes…that look was the thing that also made him melt, make him feel happy. And the warmth inside him started coming back.

"I love you Manny…you changed my life. You made me see the truth, if it weren't for you, I'd still see myself as 100 possum. Though I still consider Crash and Eddie my family, I owe a lot to you too." She nuzzled cheeks with him, and then she heard him say.

"I'm sorry guys…Ellie, I'm ready to give my life for you too…all of you. I can't…won't lose another family. But…I also know now that, my family will always be with me…protecting me." He told them. He then smiled down at the group.

"I'm ready to fight…" He said. Mile beamed up at his friend. Although he doubted Manny would get over this setback completely yet, he knew the mammoth was ready to continue on with them. He then announced.

"Well then, we only got one way to go, let's get going."

"Okay!" They all responded in unison. Mile then started off, with Diego at his Side, Manny and Ellie in the back, with Sid riding on the male mammoth's back. It probably would be a bit till they would get out of this place, but as long as they had each other, and protect each other, they'd get through this. Then a low growling sound was heard, coming from the top of Manny. They all glanced at the sloth, who was holding his belly, and he blushed.

"Hope we find some food." He commented. Manny then said.

"Better not chew on me, or I'll drop and kill you." Sid laughed a bit.

"Okay okay pal." He smiled. They then continued on the weakly lit cavern, it wide and big enough to fit them all as they made their way into the unknown.

**Author's PN: Well yeah...I had nothing to do and felt like writing. I always write when I need to get my mind off things, and when I have inspiration. Longest chapter probably, and hoping I didn't get confused while writing either. I think I got ideas for Chapter 9, but will come later. Till then, enjoy.**


	9. The Labyrinth

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything cept for mammoth idea, Mile, and the female sloth.**

**Chapter 9: The Labyrinth**

"Are we there yet?" The sloth complained for the 7th time during their walk. The cavern wasn't letting down, they came to a few dead ends when it came to splits, but didn't let it get to them…too much. Manny groaned.

"For the last time, NO!" He said, aggravated. Diego looked up at Sid.

"We'll get there when we get there, just be happy we didn't get into any fights yet." He told him. Sid nodded slightly, it WAS a welcome relief that no heartless ambushed them yet. But even though they haven't been attacked for the past half hour, the group had to be ready even then. Letting their guard down even once would spell disaster.

Mile was up ahead by a bit, looking around. It seemed the cave didn't lead nowhere, just dead ends. And he was starting to get hungry too. Its been forever since he last ate. He sighed.

"Its these times I wish I could even have a bit of modern food…but oh well." He muttered to himself. Mile then looked back, and saw the others were walking a bit slower then usual too. They were probably exhausted and hungry as well. He then sighed. There wasn't any point on continuing right now if they needed to rest. He stopped and announced to them.

"We can rest here…we're not getting anywhere, and I know all of you are pretty exhausted," The group exchanged glances. It was hard to admit for some of them, but Mile was right, they can't keep up another hour of walking. He then said.

"I'm going to go up ahead for a bit, to see if there's an exit…" Seeing the worried look of Diego, he then added.

"No worries, I'm not going far." Mile then turned and headed down one of the two passageways in front of the herd. Sid yawned, then curled up on Manny's back. He asked.

"Hey Manny, is it okay if I sleep up here? Nothing to lay on except the ground, you know?" The mammoth glanced up at Sid and nodded.

"Alright, you can lay up there." He then laid down himself, Ellie right next to him. She smiled at the dozing sloth, and then let her trunk lay across him, so he wouldn't get cold. Sid emitted another yawn, then finally dozed off into slumber land, leaving the remaining three mammals to look at each other.

Diego sighed softly, then said. "How can this cave go on for so long? The split outside didn't seem so spaced out." He commented. Manny shrugged slightly.

"Well the only thing we did find was the cave and a dead-end, maybe we took a wrong turn." He frowned. He didn't like his idea that they were heading in a completely wrong direction, and tried brushing it off. But it stuck to the mammoth like sticky glue, and he kept wandering if that was really true. The saber grunted, then laid his head in his paws.

"Thanks, now you got me thinking it." He said dryly. Manny looked at Diego, then sighed.

"Sorry." He responded, simply. Diego looked at his mammoth friend, then shook his head.

"No, don't be. You might be right…but I kind of hope your wrong though." The mammoth couldn't help but laugh a bit. His friend was being too paranoid about getting him angry.

"I hope I'm wrong too." He told Diego. Manny then looked at Ellie, who was staring down at the ground, and he used his trunk to stroke her head.

"You okay?" He asked. She looked up at Manny, and nodded, laying her head on his paw. (Or hand.)

"Yeah…you think we'll get out of here?" She asked softly. Manny looked down at Ellie. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to tell the truth either. Honestly, he had no idea if they'd get out of there. But he simply nodded and gave the most assuring smile he could.

"Of course, I've went through geyser fields, fought sabers, and crossed a river of lava, I'm not going to let some big cave get the best of me." With that reassuring statement, Ellie moved closer, still keeping her trunk across the sleeping sloth as she dozed off as well. Eventually, Manny fell asleep too after saying goodnight to Diego.

The saber continued to stay awake, waiting for Mile to return. It seemed to be forever, and Diego slowly started to doze off, but then he heard footsteps, which made his eyes open completely. And there Mile was, walking back, eyes transfixed in front of him. Diego slowly stood up and asked.

"How went the scouting?" Mile glanced at the saber, then shook his head disappointedly.

"Bad, passages could go on forever." He said. Diego was also disappointed by the response, he was hoping for some satisfying results but this…this wasn't satisfying. But he simply nodded his head, and laid his head in his paws again, sighing. Mile groaned as well, and laid somewhere in the middle of the pack.

"It'll be fine Diego. There HAS to be a way out, and if there isn't…well…" He probably shouldn't have added the last part, as Diego quickly turned his head and closed his eyes. Mile sighed, then laid his head in his paws too, and eventually fell asleep. But the thoughts of being stuck in this maze haunted him, even in his dreams…

Whatever it was, day or night, the group awoke a few hours later, starting with Sid. He let out a big, loud yawn, which was probably acted like an alarm clock for the rest, and he jumped down to the group. Some of the herd stirred, but when the sloth noticed nobody awoke, he quickly yelled.

"Wake up everybody!" This woke up everyone for sure, starting with a shriek from Ellie. Manny, Diego, and Mile all shot their heads up, thinking they were being attacked, and looked in three different directions, ready to fight despite their doziness. But when they realized there were no heartless around, they all glared at Sid. The sloth grinned uneasily.

"What? I was just waking you up." He said, innocently. Manny then smacked Sid across the head with his trunk, following up with Diego, and then Mile. Sid groaned slightly, pretending to look hurt.

"Why's everyone picking on me?" He joked. Mile chuckled, not even bothering to answer the sloth's ridiculous question as he looked at the others. Manny looked down at the key wielding saber, and asked.

"What's the report on the path up ahead?" Mile's eyes glanced away, and the mammoth kind of guessed what the answer was.

"No difference…" Manny concluded. Mile nodded, and everyone couldn't help but let loose a couple sighs and groans. After they released their frustration…in such a minor way, they started off again. Sid, smiling and sitting on Manny's back, started singing.

_"If you think we're lost now, clap your hands." _He started clapping. Diego groaned. "God Sid…"

_"If you think we're lost now, clap your---" _Before he could finish the made up verse, Manny wrapped his trunk around Sid, and squeezed him, making him gasp.

"Okay okay! I'll stop…!" He wheezed, then took deep breaths as the mammoth unwrapped his trunk around Sid. Ellie giggled a bit and petted the sloth on the head.

"Maybe lighten up on the singing honey." She suggested. Sid nodded slowly in agreement, chuckling a bit. After a while, they came to another crossroad, and this time, Mile noticed something he didn't or couldn't see when he scouted up ahead. Both paths emitted a bit of light from the end of the roads. Manny grinned.

"I knew it! Here're the exits!" He exclaimed, full of relief. Mile was in disbelief. There wasn't any light before unless…it was nighttime outside, then that probably meant they reached the end of this labyrinth.

"Hallelujah!" Ellie cried out in excitement, grinning back at Manny. Mile then looked at the others.

"Wait just a minute…we took the left path when we first came through this cave right?" He asked for their opinions patiently. Mile didn't have to be too patient though, as everyone quickly nodded. He then continued.

"Well then, the right path it is. Onwards!" He laughed and headed down the right fork in the cavern. Everyone followed in quick pursuit, determined to make their way out of this cave. But the sad thing was, as soon as they reached the end apparently, they were greeted with a dead end. Diego could only look with a 'what the hell' look as his eyes were glued on the wall in front of them. They were all in shock, they saw light, and still do. But then, Sid looked up, then pointed upwards too.

"Everyone, look up." They all did, then couldn't help but groan. There was a opening on the top, that was emitting light and shining it down into this area of the maze. Diego then growled, almost going insane.

"That's it!" He quickly sprinted back the way they came. Mile's eyes widened, and he chased after his saber friend, yelling.

"Wait! Diego!" He continued sprinting, his friends trying to keep up behind him. Diego, as he reaches the fork, swiftly rotates around, and takes the left path. Mile once more yelled Diego's name, but no response. Meanwhile, as Sid waddled as fast as he could, he started to pant, then slow down, not able to keep up with the pace. Ellie then wrapped her trunk around the sloth, and put him on her back, continuing on. But even she was tiring as they rounded the corner.

"Diego, WAIT, UP!" Mile continued sprinting, then noticed that Diego stopped running, but was in a position that looked like he was ready to pounce. As Mile caught up and got a better view of what Diego was looking at, his eyes were suddenly glued onto the two mammoth heartless that were blocking the exit.

The Exit! They found it, but it was being guarded! So they were on the right track. That was a surprise to Mile. But he didn't let his amazement get in the way of the situation, and his keyblade appeared in his mouth just as he started to charge. The two mammoth heartless made their trumpet, and then charged as well, which was also the time Manny, Ellie and Sid caught up. Manny's eyes widened as he saw the altered versions of himself attacking his saber friends, and started to slow down. But then his mind flashed to what Mile said, about how they all had to look out for each other, how they were all a family, how they all cared about one another. Diego protected the mammoth, and now it was Manny's turn to protect Diego.

So he continued to charge, even sped up as his head slammed into one of the heartless. They both let out grunts, and started into another power struggle like before, except this time Manny was unleashing 100 percent of his strength.

"Ergh…Mile, slash the underside of this thing!" Although not too familiar with the weaknesses of heartless, the underside of most mammals tended to be soft, or not as durable or strong as some other spots. (If this is a fact, I'll forever be amazed.) Mile nodded swiftly, then sprinted underneath the heartless. He tilted his head back, letting the blade slice through its belly like tissue paper. The heartless screeched, then fell over, disappearing as it did.

"One down, one to go." Mile muttered as his eyes swiftly darted to the other, who was trying to ram Diego. Unfortunately for it, the saber had nice footwork, avoiding each attempt, some by inches. And even more sad for the heartless, it didn't see that its 'friend' was destroyed, and that Manny was charging right at him. The mammoth slammed into the heartless, making it cry out as it collapsed into the wall. But it wasn't taken out so easily, and as it got up, it attempted to slash at Manny with its own tusks.

The attack hit its mark, and Manny grimaced as two long cuts along his side appeared, blood coming out of them. He looked at the creature with anger, and then slammed it with his head again into the wall. It screeched again, but this time, it couldn't get up, and slowly disappeared into nothingness.

Sid whistled slightly, then cheered loud as the last heartless disappeared. "We did it! We kick heartless butt!" He exclaimed, although for a minute Diego was worried Sid would say 'We kick mammoth butt.'

"You mean me, Manny, and Mile." He chuckled. Sid grinned a bit at the saber, and for a minute Diego was confused why he was, but then the sloth whistled slightly and walked past him.

"Sid!" Diego growled, realizing what the sloth probably meant, then turned around and started at him. Watching the two, the mammoths and Mile laughed a bit, then looked around. It seemed they reached the end, and the sun was shining brightly upon them. The terrain around them seemed familiar, and the two mammoths exchanged glances. But it wasn't the same place, it was a pathway, and on both sides, mountains.

"Where are we?" Manny asked himself, knowing no one would probably know. But a voice out of nowhere spoke.

"Where do you think? On the other side of the fog, smart one." The voice came from above, and Mile's ears perked. Diego and Sid also stopped their fighting.

"That voice…" Mile started, and looked up. And wouldn't you know it, on a little plateau on the mountain, about 15 to 20 feet from the ground, there was a figure. But no one knew who it was. But one thing was for sure, Sid was utterly out of breath.

"And you're looking to find a certain Nobody, and how to save the other herds." The feminine voice spoke once more. Everyone was shocked, how did she know that? The figure then jumped down, and as she landed without a scratch, Sid cried out with mixed emotions.

"Another sloth!"

**Author's PN: Well after a bit of a long wait, chapter 9 is up, though not as proud about it as the others. And now I'm dealing with some writer's block. But all-in-all, I think this is a ok chapter. Now a few things before I continue. Chapter 10 I hope will come to me easier.**

**1. At first in my head I planned to make the female a tiger and Mile a sloth, so obviously things are a bit flipped, but no matter. This is pretty much more a comment, not a question. Heh.**

**2. I need ideas on what to call the saber and mammoth heartless, I mean names. Ideas?**


	10. On The Other Side

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the heartless I made up, Mile, and Kat. But the heartless names, creditgoes to Xegrot. Thanks a lot man!**

**Chapter 10: On The Other Side**

There was an odd silence after Sid made his observation clear. Then, with another minute passed, the female sloth became more impatient, her hand on her hip. She didn't look like the other female sloth's, not as flashy or had those weird hairstyles. Some of her hair looked as if it was brushed down to cover some of her face, and she had a whiter/grayer belly then the others. She also had a white stripe along the side of her right leg, more of a unique mark that distinguished her from the others.

"You guys alright, you're acting like you've seen a ghost." That voice again, Mile recognized it. This time, he spoke up, stepping forward and getting the sloth's attention.

"Who are you, and how do you know so much about what we're doing?" He asked, practically demanding an answer. The female's eyes transfixed on Mile, and her eyes widened a little. She recognized that voice too…it was all too familiar, and the name came to her fast.

"…Mile?" Her voice was almost a whisper, starting to take a step forward. Mile was appalled, the only people who knew his name was his herd, and…his partners…the partners who accompanied him before they crash-landed in this world…

"Katherine?" He responded just as softly. Katherine looked at him blankly, almost out of words. The herd was silent, but surprised that this sloth and saber knew each other. And then, which amazed the group so much, the sloth came up and hugged Mile, practically tearing up.

"Mile! Its you! I can't believe it, I thought you were killed!" Katherine cried into his shoulder, overwhelmed with so many feelings that she was surprised she could complete her sentence without stammering. Mile put a paw around her, comforting her.

"Its okay Kat, I'm alive…I thought YOU were dead, when we crashed…I'm glad your okay." He said, closing eyes. Sid looked curiously, then looked at Kat in awe. Although the waterworks could subside, he was still amazed by her look, her beauty…Diego noticed how Sid's eyes were practically glued to the female sloth, and he knocked his head lightly, snapping him back to reality.

"Save it for later Romeo." He chuckled slightly. Sid snickered as well and smiled softly.

"Its okay, last thing on my mind." He looked at Kat with some wonder. He then spoke up just as Mile calmed her down and she stopped crying.

"Um, Kat? Your human, right?" The sloth asked, making sure. Kat looked at Sid, then nodded her head. Sid sighed softly, though didn't slump, that would definitely raise suspicion, or attention upon him. But for some reason, he still looked at her as the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. He blushed and stayed silent, and after a bit of confusion, Kat looked back at Mile, with a soft smile. He smiled back, then had to ask.

"So…have you heard from him? You know…Denner?" Denner was Mile's other friend who crash-landed, who went by Den at times because his real name well…wasn't actually an actual name used. It was just made up by his family. It was kind of silly actually, getting a name that didn't exist until just then, but he never had found it that amusing.

Kat's smile brightened, and she nodded. "Yeah, he's alive too. He's further down though, scouting." After she finished that sentence however, she sort of frowned. "He's been away for a while though…by the way, guess what he looks like?" She grinned, her mood changes not getting to Mile…all that much. Manny was however, putting his trunk over his eye, muttering.

"What a wonder, no wonder sloths are being betted on to go extinct first." Sid glared up at the mammoth, and Ellie nudged him.

"Hey, that's not nice!" Manny's slight grin faded a bit, and he drooped his head.

"Sorry…" Kat looked at the herd awkwardly, then at Mile, curious, before Mile could give his answer.

"These your friends?" She questioned. Mile nodded, the saber glancing at the herd. Diego gave the best smile he could without being too ferocious-looking, Manny waves his trunk, Ellie gave a cheery 'hello,' and when her glance turned to Sid, the sloth stammered.

"I-I um…err…o-oh yeah! Sid!" He blushed and said his name louder then the rest. Diego chuckled and whispered to Sid.

"Smooth." He snickered. Sid gave a warning glare to the tiger, and Diego was slightly startled at the look Sid gave him. Sid then looked back with a weak grin. Kat giggled a bit, smiling. She had to admit, that was a little cute. She could tell he was trying to give a good first impression…and wasn't doing to well, but it didn't matter, Kat still found it kind of nice. She then looked at Mile.

"Nice friends you got there," She looked at the herd with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Manny, Diego, Ellie." She giggled slightly before finishing. "Sid." The sloth laughed oddly, and the other four couldn't help but snicker as Kat looked at her friend once more. Mile then calmed down, and looked at her with seriousness this time.

"Kat, seriously, how did you know about our plans?" He asked again. She smiled slyly, as if it was obvious, or to rile Mile up.

"Well obviously I've been attacked more then once…those damn things a bit hard to get rid of though. And I saw one escaping, so I tried to catch it, but Denner stopped me and went after it instead." She smacked her face as she sighed deeply.

"That guy, I swear he's too overprotective sometimes…" Mile grinned a bit.

"Probably because you NEED the protection." He teased. But that earned him a good whack upon the head, making him skid a few inches back. Diego whistled, a sloth having that much power? He murmured to himself.

"Not going to see something like that again…at least not from Sid anytime soon." He snickered some more, and Manny glanced down at him. He returned the glance, then looked at the others. Sid seemed to have moved forward a bit last time he checked, Diego smirked.

"Well, about the whole valley thing, idea just came naturally. Didn't you pay attention what the surroundings look like?" Kat's voice made Diego turn his head back to the duo, Mile getting up and rubbing the top of his head with his paw, emitting an 'Ow.' before responding.

"Oh I'm sorry, I was too busy thinking OH MY GOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! WHERE'RE THE PARACHUTES ON THIS THING!" The sarcasm was easy to find in his shout, and Kat was about to smack him again, but Mile closed his eyes muttering.

"Don't hurt me." He sighed, defeated. Diego was the one to put his paw over his own face this time.

"God, a saber admitting defeat to a sloth…" He muttered. Sid couldn't help but feel triumphant that his kind just 'showed up' Diego's kind, but at the same time, he was also really impressed by Kat's strength. She smirked, then repeated her last question.

"So, remember when I inputted those codes so we would change into mammals before hitting the ground?" Mile nodded.

"I don't get why, there ARE humans on this land…I think." He shrugged. He wasn't exactly sure, and he looked at his friends for backup. They nodded, with tiny frowns. They remembered that they had taken care of a baby child, but its been a long time since they saw him, and by this time, 'Pinky' may already be a hunter.

"Yeah…" Manny said softly. He was the most down when he and the little child parted paths, but the mammoth knew it was for the best. Its just, that the baby reminded Manny of his own family, his own child, the family he had lost long ago. And now the memories were slowly returning, and he sighed.

"Why did we have to change into mammals then?" Mile asked confusingly. Kat snickered, and looked at him silly.

"Because, for one thing, I know a tiny bit more about the worlds then you do, and there're more mammals then humans here. Sucks, I was too rushed, but I sort of think I would've fit the role of saber," She giggled, and Sid couldn't help but be entranced by he voice. "After-all, Kat? Tiger?" Mile laughed a bit, and smiled.

"Eh, you look fine as a sloth," He looked at Sid, and then as a way of either giving the sloth a step forward or to embarrass him, he leaned forward and whispered to Kat.

"You know Sid likes you right? The way he looks at you?" The sloth had overheard the saber though, and his eyes widened. What was Mile trying to do? Permanently ruin any chance he had of making Kat like him? Kat glanced at him, then smiled smugly, looking at Mile.

"He…actually is kind of cute…I want to see what he'll do after this…" She whispered back, making sure it was silent enough that Sid couldn't hear. Kat then came over to him, the herd's glances coming to watch what she does. Sid felt like he was starting to sweat as she came up to him, their eyes looking into each others. From here, Kat almost wanted to giggle or flush, Sid was pretty attractive, either that, or it was because she hadn't seen any other male sloth's before. Without making a peep, Kat leaned forward, and to everyone's massive surprise, gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. Sid froze in place as she leaned back, giggling a little. Even Mile's jaw was slacking a bit.

"Aw how cute." Ellie commented, smiling. Kat smiled a little, and she said to Sid.

"Maybe." That was all she said, then she looked back at Mile.

"Come on, I'll explain where I've been all this time. Let's all walk." She said, starting off in the direction she pointed to, the direction Denner was, as she said. Everyone started walking again, Ellie locking trunks with Manny, smiling. He smiled back.

"All of a sudden so clingy?" He laughed a bit. Ellie glanced at him oddly, and he gave her a look showing he was kidding. She nuzzled cheeks with him, making his blush slightly as he nuzzled back. Diego chuckled as Sid was sitting on his back, still wide-eyed from the kiss on his cheek.

"That actually happened…wow!" Sid was happy, it was a good sign to him, he might have a chance after-all. And Mile helped substantially. He smiled at the saber, and Mile smiled back, then sprinted up next to Kat. She started talking again, loud enough so her explanation could be heard.

"Well, when I woke up, I was in a middle of a blizzard. I didn't see anybody around, but the only way I was living was because I found a little cave, one with wood already there and a…" She giggled. "Slightly odd drawn Sloth on the wall." Sid frowned a bit, and looked at Kat with a weird look.

"That was me…" He then glanced at Manny, who just acted all innocent, and Sid continued. "Except someone had to make me rounder." He finished whining, and jumped off Diego, starting to walk with his own two feet.

"Hey, you ARE chubby Sid, don't deny it." The mammoth said with a snicker. Sid blushed, a bit infuriated, but Kat smiled and responded before the other sloth could.

"So? Chubbiness is…" Before she could finish, Mile gave her a quick glare. She smiled slyly, and continued. "Kind of sexy." The saber sighed deeply and fell on his rear, yelling.

"I'm not freaking chubby!" Although most of the gazes went to Mile, Sid fell over, and then jumped back on his feet, grinning.

"So you think Sid The Sloth is sexy?" He asked. She smirked, and looked at him.

"Now I don't think I said that, did I?" Although Sid seemed a bit disappointed, Kat smiled and walked past him. Diego looked up at Manny with an odd look.

"You absolutely sure we can trust her? I mean she's even falling for the knucklehead." Although Kat was a friend of Mile, she seemed a bit…well Diego couldn't find the word for it. Ellie frowned, not that much interested in this conversation, but couldn't help but add her two cents.

"You worry too much, if Mile trusts her, I trust her. He said she and someone known as Denner was his partners, so why can't we believe she's a good person?" Before the saber could respond, she continued, a stern look.

"And do you have such little faith in Sid that you think he'll never find true love?" Manny looked at Diego and whispered to him.

"Good work." He laughed and continued on, seeing as Ellie was occupied in lecturing the saber. Sid then clapped his hands, the sloth walking along with the group as he announced.

"I decided!" He grinned. Mile looked at him curiously.

"Decided what?" He asked. Sid smiled, feeling proud of himself, then spoke in a high, smart-ass voice.

"I have decided what we shall call the heartless that are the manipulations of our very beings!" Manny whistled, though with the look in his eye, he wasn't that impressed.

"Wow, impressive vocabulary." He said, sarcasm in his voice. The sloth ignored him, and Kat giggled.

"Come on then, amuse us." She grinned. Sid, seeing as he had…a small group of people interested, continued.

"Okay you know the saber heartless, how bout, Shadowmane." He suggested. Mile, Kat, and Manny both exchanged glances, then looked at him with surprise. That was actually a pretty good name. That was the 'first' Sid came up with a pretty good idea. But the amazement continued.

"And for the Mammoth heartless, um…oh yeah! Blackhorn!" Manny, for the first time, was speechless. It was like Sid was suddenly having a brain blast.

"Uh…Sid you alright?" He asked. The sloth looked up at Manny and nodded, looking oddly.

"Yeah, why?" Mile then moved closer, suspicious.

"Because even you couldn't have come up with TWO good ideas for names, in one day." He smirked. Sid sweated a bit, they were right. Sid had actually gotten the idea for the heartless from Diego, and the saber had simply told him he could go on ahead and tell the ideas. Diego probably didn't mean take the idea as his own, but Sid couldn't help it, especially now Katherine was traveling with them. Being such a beautiful, and smart female sloth, he didn't want to look dumb. But considering the situation he was in, Sid kind of believed it would've been better if he just said that Diego made the ideas. 'Well, too late now.' Sid thought.

"Hey, cut it out you guys." Kat said, smiling and taking Sid's hand, dragging him out of the glares of the two mammals. Sid whistled softly, relieved, and about to say something, but Kat shushed him.

"We can talk later okay? I just saved your butt." Sid laughed a bit, seeing she really did, and walked along with her. Manny and Mile looked at each other, then at Sid, then said in unison.

"He's a goner." They laughed, but they knew those two were going to get along well as long as the sloth told the truth. They continued their travels, listening to the slightly raised voice of Ellie scolding Diego, him wincing every moment her voice seemed to raise. Though amusing, they made a mental note not to get her started up like that, like how the saber did..

---Meanwhile---

Crash and Eddie sighed, sitting in the grass. Their thoughts continued to move to Ellie, and how she and the group were doing.

"Man, we got to find them…" Eddie said, but Crash shook his head.

"Sis told us to stay here, besides, don't you see all the girls around here?" He tried to grin, but all that came was a tiny smile. Even he would prefer Ellie to be here then to flirt. He then stood up, sniffing.

"Alright Eddie, that does it, let's go find them!" He exclaimed. Eddie smiled bright then jumped up too.

"Yeah!" They all were hyped up, ready to move, but then…stomachs growled, and Crash chuckled weakly.

"Eh…after lunch." He said, running off. Eddie chased after, also responding.

"Right on." Although running in a different direction then what the herd took, the possums after eating, would find the group soon…hopefully.

**Author's PN: On a personal note, Chapter 1 has been remodified, hopefully better version. And I hope you like the fluffiness that is to come. You can guess who Sid is paired up with. Heh, well enjoy. And on another note, I'd like to thank Xegrot who came up with the names for the heartless. Thanks a lot man! Well guys, enjoy and hope you look forward to the next chapters!**


	11. Two's The Number

**Disclaimer: I do not own nothing but Mile, Kat, and Denner.**

**Chapter 11: Two's The Number**

"Ah…here we are, the spot where me and Den been resting for the past few days." Kat had led the herd to where the duo had been staying, and it was surprisingly beautiful to most of them. It was a open space, like the shape of a big circle, unlike the slightly small passage they were taking, and the most coolest thing was the waterfall that came down.

"Wow…its so beautiful…" Ellie murmured, looking up at the waterfall in awe. It seemed to shimmer as it came down into the awaiting pond. Manny smiled, nuzzling her cheek gently with his, responding back.

"Yeah…it is." He gazed on with Ellie, happy to be this close to her as Kat made her way forward. She then spun around, looking at everyone. If Mile couldn't notice before, he noticed now that she was happier then usual.

"We can stay here till Den gets back…everyone can wander off if they want, as long as you don't get lost…" With that said, Kat walked up to Mile, and whispered something in his ear. Although some were curious and wanted to ask what was up, Kat was then heading down the pathway they WOULD be progressing across right now. Sid watched her, feeling like he should follow. But he was starting to get nervous again, and he gulped. If he followed, Sid would have to have the guts to start a conversation anyways. It was then someone behind him spoke, bringing him back to the real world.

"Go after her." Diego said softly, saying exactly what he said to Manny that oh-so-long time ago. Sid looked at the saber, then blushed.

"What do I say?" He asked. Diego shrugged, and smiled smugly.

"For a talkative sloth like you, that shouldn't be a problem…" With that he turned around, making Sid grumble and turn too. As he started heading after Kat, he heard Diego add.

"Just say what comes to mind." With that little bit of help, Sid fastened his waddling, thoughts about what to do running through his head 20 miles an hour…

---Meanwhile---

Mile sat down upon a bulging boulder from the wall, laying his head in his paws and looking at Diego as he passed by. Seeing as he was talking to Sid earlier, the saber snickered.

"What did you tell Sid?" Mile asked, wanting to know. Diego glanced at Mile, acting as if hurt.

"What, you think I gave Sid bad advice? Some friend you are." He smiled smugly as Mile looked at him with a piercing gaze. He then continued.

"All I told him was to say what came to mind. Sid can be smart…at times." Mile nodded slowly, knowing the sloth only seemed dumb because he didn't try hard enough at times. At least that was how it seemed when Diego and Manny talked about their adventures to him.

"Sure he'll do fine…so what do you think. Enthusiastic, stubborn and sometimes hard-headed Katherine with goofy, cocky, and…also hard-headed Sid." Mile said each of their traits while holding in a snicker, but Diego couldn't hold his in. He smirked.

"Sounds like a winning combination actually…" He replied. Mile's eyes widened a bit, then he grinned too, nodding. It did actually, Kat when traveling with Mile and Den, always got into spats with Mile, and then within 5 minutes, they'd be at each other's throats, Den holding them back. He'd then let go, making the two slam heads, and land on ground dizzily. They could also hear Den too.

"Man why do I got to put up with this every damn day…" He would murmur. He then would add with a snicker. "Of course, it is entertaining…"

"You okay Mile?" Mile looked up at Diego, seeing as he was spacing out, then nodded. He blushed slightly, then responded.

"Just…thinking back on old times." Diego watched him as he walked off, and then sighed. Homesickness, that was what Mile had. Either that, or he probably misses being a human, or his other friend. But mostly the only thing the saber could think of is that Mile belonged and deserved to be a human, not a tiger.

"Doesn't matter what I think…" He told himself, holding in his emotions which just wanted to burst free. As much as Diego didn't want Mile to leave or change back…just seems like he has to, or is going to anyways.

Mile, as he was walking towards the waterfall, looked back and saw Diego's saddened face. For a moment, he was about to walk back and ask what was wrong, but…"Better let him be…" He muttered softly. Sabers don't do well showing off a huge thing of emotions, especially in front of someone. It would probably make it worse if Mile came over..

---Meanwhile---

Manny and Ellie were already at the base of the waterfall, trunks intertwined until Ellie wanted to run her trunk across the water. As she unwrapped her trunk with his, Manny smiled softly.

"Glad we can have some time to ourselves…" He observed. Although he noticed Mile coming their way, it seemed he wasn't aiming to talk to them, just to sit down, or look around. After all, Mile never been to this area before.

"Yeah, this is nice…" Ellie responded, though her voice was more gentle as she let her trunk run across the top of the water. It was nice and cool, and she wondered if it was safe to drink. As Mile walked by, he said softly.

"The water's clean, go ahead and drink." Manny and Ellie glanced at Mile, but then saw he was walking AROUND the waterfall…behind it. Manny was softly surprised, then walked over to where Mile had been. It was then he was surprised, there was an opening, like a cave directly behind the waterfall. The mammoth then looked down, and saw a small path that curved and led inside. Unfortunately it was too small for the mammoths to get through.

Manny then looked back at Ellie, who was sitting down, gazing into the water and at her reflection. He laid down next to her, looking at her, into her eyes.

"You okay?" He asked. Ellie couldn't help but have a smug look on her face, turning her head.

"You have to ask?" She countered. Manny was surprised a bit, then his eyes moved away. "I um…just worry about you a lot." He admitted, looking down upon his reflection too. What he could see from the water, was Ellie's look softening, and she smiled.

"Of course I'm alright…don't worry, if something's wrong, I'll tell you." She said, her trunk playing with the hair on Manny's head. He chuckled slightly, then nodded.

"Okay…say, you know, pretty soon, well, not so soon, but still, soon…its coming up, a whole month since we've known each other." Ellie giggled as he stammered, but then thought back. Considering they spent a few days, nearly a week escaping to the 'boat', and its been nearly another week during their travels, it was halfway there, their one month anniversary. Ellie laughed some more.

"Its been half a month, but yeah…it'll be our anniversary soon." She smiled. Manny, also smiling, started stroking her head with his trunk, making her shudder slightly. It felt kind of nice as he caressed her head, Ellie doing the same thing in return. It was much more comforting to do too, since Mile was apparently looking around, Sid and Kat were out, and Diego looked asleep.

"It'll be nice, once we're truly alone…" Manny murmured, staring into the water. Ellie smiled as well, then nuzzled him.

"Yeah…just you and me…" As Ellie thought ahead, she flushed. She had thought too far ahead. Manny looked at her, and then noticed the red on her cheeks, and then he was curious.

"What's wrong?" Ellie looked at Manny, then giggled slightly uneasily.

"Just…was thinking about our life in the future…also about…having a kid." As she finished her sentence, Manny's eyes widened so far it looked as if they would pop out. Ellie blushed a bit, then replied quickly.

"I don't mean now, I mean, when we can officially settle down without worrying about fighting, and traveling, that kind of thing." She said. Manny then settled down, looking at her. He was surprised she was thinking about having a kid, but then his mind thought about to his old family, about how much he had loved his son, how he wished he could care about someone like that again. Sure Ellie was here, but he wanted to care about a kid too…

"When this is all over, we'll settle down and talk about it." He told Ellie. She smiled and nodded, though embarrassed that she even brought it up. Manny, whose eyes were now transfixed up ahead, spoke up.

"Don't be embarrassed…I thought about it a long time too…" He then looked at her, who was gazing into his eyes too. She murmured softly.

"Manny.." She leaned her head forward, resting her forehead against his as her trunk caressed the back of Manny's head. He smiled, and as his trunk rested on the back of Ellie's head, realized their lips were free, able to press against one another. He smiled a bit, then came forward. As he did, Ellie also had moved his head closer, and finally…their lips connected.

Although they always had expressed their feelings when they were close, trunks wrapped, nuzzling, this was completely different. It was very difficult to kiss because of their trunks being in the way, but this time they weren't. Manny continued kissing her with passion, Ellie right back. In a few moments, they had disconnected, catching their breath, gasping.

As their breathing slowly calmed down, Manny beamed. "That was amazing…!" He puffed. Ellie nodded as well, then giggled, winking slightly.

"Do it again?" He smiled, and leaned forward, starting to kiss her again.

---Meanwhile---

Sid caught up to Kat finally, wheezing. At first, Kat had turned around and saw the sloth following her, then started sprinting for the fun of it. Sid, of course started running after. A few times she spun around and went back down the path, giggling as Sid collapsed. Finally, when he made his way up to her, she smiled.

"You're a decent runner." He grinned a little as she made that little statement, then coughed.

"T-Thanks." He managed to say, looking up at her and softly panting. She giggled a bit, then smiled, sitting down, Sid following suit. She snickered slightly, seeing he was a bit out of breath. But it was okay with her, she wanted to rest as well, anyways.

Sid looked at her, and seeing they were sitting a good distance close to each other, felt a bit nervous and excited at the same time. Now was his chance to talk, to see if they were really compatible. But he had to do something first, he knew he had to come out with the truth.

"Hey um…Kat?" He started. Kat looked at him, still smiling. Seeing he had a slightly nervous, or worried look, it started to fade, and he shook his hands.

"No no, I like your smile…just there's something I gots to tell you…" He gulped, then after taking a deep breath, he continued. "You know the whole Blackhorn and Shadowmane names I said earlier? For those heartless?" Kat nodded, and snickered, finishing up for her, the tone of her voice still the same as it has been.

"They weren't your ideas…" Sid's eyes widened a bit, then blushed as he sees the female sloth had beaten him to the punch. He nodded swiftly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I just wanted to impress you! I thought if I announced those ideas instead of Diego, you'd like me…" He said quickly, thinking the possibility of Kat liking him will be plummeting down at this very moment. But as he had turned his head, not wanting to look into her face when she spoke, Sid realized there wasn't any disgust in her voice.

"Sid you don't have to prove yourself…and I'm really happy that you admitted to me, that those weren't your ideas. Most guys would just continue lying and trying to impress the girl till its too late. Your not like that…Sid your really sweet." After that little speech, both of them felt embarrassed. Sid, because a female had never been that open to him before, and Kat because it was true. She was starting to actually fall for the goofy sloth, the most unexpected mammal to get a mate. Sid then looked at her again and grinned.

"Well I AM quite a resilient sloth aren't I." As soon as he said that, Kat laughed a bit, then grinned herself.

"Do you know what resilient means?" She asked. Sid gulped, then as his cheeks burned a soft red, he responded. "…No…" She laughed a bit more, then smiled, scooting a bit closer when he looked away.

"Don't worry, it doesn't mean anything bad. Either way, I still think you're a great sloth, Sid…" She told him. Sid then looked up, then saw her scoot even closer. He was nervous, thinking this was the time for sweet talk. His face then brightened a bit, and this time, HE was the one who moved closer. The gap between them were almost complete, just another inch…

"Well I may be great…but you're the most amazing female sloth I've ever seen…" Kat let out a slight purr like sound, trying to sound a bit sexy as the gap closed…

"Don't you mean…the most sexy female sloth you ever seen?" She smirked. Sid, biting his lower lip slightly, then nodded, having to agree.

"Yeah…" He then leaned forward slightly, ready to kiss her. Kat also leaned forward a bit, the scene looking like they were about to lip-lock, but then she pushed him gently on his back, though strong enough to make him go 'yikes!' She laughed a bit.

"I didn't think you'd continue flirting after that. You got spunk." Sid sat up, then felt embarrassed and partially ashamed. And, if she was real devious, it was perfect to really make the sloth feel real…'Uncomfy' during their travels. She then smiled, sitting back next to him and scooting up close, leaning against the sloth. Sid was pretty surprised by her sudden change in attitude, and then he heard her spoke.

"You know…I do appreciate that you think I'm sexy…" She giggled, then looked up at him, whispering softly. "But…let's not rush this too much, okay?" Sid looked down at her, and nodded. Even though it usually took a while for the sloth to comprehend something, he knew that she probably felt a bit awkward at the moment. He didn't forget that she was actually a human. To be honest, he felt a bit awkward too, though not as much as her probably.

"Of course…then why are we cuddling? Isn't it talk, date, cuddle, kiss? Or did I get the order wrong." He chuckled slightly. Kat looked up at him, then smirked. "I said let's not rush too quickly, I didn't say we could speed the relationship a little…" Sid grinned a bit as well, then closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her, holding her, wanting to press her into his chest. Kat rested her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and closing her eyes as well. It was really nice…peaceful even. And although it wouldn't be for a while longer till it hit nighttime, they felt like they could even fall asleep. But she remembered exactly what she had to do, and Kat looked up at Sid after a good half an hour or so.

"Let's head back, don't want to make the others worry." As she said this, Sid seemed a bit disappointed, but nodded, knowing it was probably true. Hesitantly, he let go of her, both of them standing up. Seeing how he still held her hand, Kat smiled. 'I guess I could give him one…' After a bit of thinking, she leaned forward, and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. Sid, amazed and emotions soaring, then saw her running down the pathway, giggling.

"Come on slowpoke!" She teased. Sid then grinned, rubbing his cheek a bit where she kissed him, then chased after. As he ran (or waddled XD), his thoughts only centered on one sentence, not noticing that when she looked back again, there had seemed to be…sadness in her eyes.

'She kissed me! Again!'

---Meanwhile---

Mile looked around the cave, curious. Kat had said there was something of interested in there, but all he saw were drawings of various mammals upon the walls. He went to the center, then sat down, glancing around some more.

"Why did she want me to come in here…?" He asked himself out loud. After a while, a voice spoke from behind, startling him and making him slide his hind legs so he was facing where the voice came from. Though as soon as he did, he realized it was just Kat.

"Dang Kat, don't sneak up on me like that." He smiled. But then he realized, she wasn't smiling. He then frowned a bit.

"What's the matter? Sid give you a bad time?" He asked the question, almost as if he expected it. But then she scowled a bit.

"Sid was great! Its just…" Her eyes drooped down, and Mile used a paw to lift her head up a bit. "Just…?" Kat gulped, then sighed, shuddering, not wanting to say what she wanted to say. But then, she spoke, her voice dry and weak.

"We should move on ahead…without the group knowing." As she said that, Mile looked at her, surprised.

"Why…? Don't you want to continue traveling with them?" Before he could continue questioning her judgment, her voice raised, almost angrily.

"DON'T YOU THINK I WANT TO STAY HERE!" Her loud voice echoed a bit, the mammals only hearing an echo. Mile sighed, then Kat fell on her rear, looking up at him with such big, gloomy eyes that even he couldn't believe Kat could feel this horrible.

"We can't have them come with us, they'll be in danger…you know the heartless will be aiming for us, US, not them. But if they come with us…" She started, but Mile put a paw over her lips, muffling anymore talk.

"Katherine…they knew what they were risking at the beginning…you know that. We're all traveling together anyways, I know our goals are different, but we all got to take the same path to reach them." He explained, his voice soft. Kat then looked back, gazing at the waterfall as if her eyes could pierce through it and see Sid, the one she was most hesitant and not wanting to leave. The saber, as if he could reach her mind, finished.

"…I think you already reached yours." Kat looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about…my goal, my job is to protect you, travel with you, the keybearer. Its---" She stopped. Kat realized what he was talking about, and then she drooped her head.

"It…wasn't my goal to stay with you all this time. I…guess I didn't know what I was aiming for all this time…" She then looked up at Mile, who looked back at her with a gentle face. She then smiled a bit.

"I stayed with you because we were friends…one of the few friends I had after the whole organization ordeal…" Mile wrapped a paw around her and hugged her as he continued on for her.

"After this is all over…" He chuckled slightly. "I can't see the future, but I have an idea Sid will be in it." He finished. Kat laughed a bit, then as they stopped embracing, she put a hand on her hip and smirked.

"You seem so sure." She countered. Mile grinned a bit as well, then they both got in a good laugh.

"Let's head out then…" He turned and started walking to get back to the outside again. Kat followed, and before they came back into view of the mammals, who had huddled up near the waterfall, she asked him.

"Your close to Diego too, huh…" Mile nodded.

"He's the closest thing to a brother that I've got…I care about him like one too…" As Mile said that, he glanced at Diego. It was amazing, how the two ex-humans had connected with the mammals so quickly…so easily. It was like fate, how it all worked out…but they all knew that they had to enjoy this tranquility while it last. After-all, their adventures weren't done just yet…in fact they were just beginning.

**Author's PN: You know...this was my hardest piece of work yet. First off, my mom closed out all my windows on accident, so I had lost 800 words and the possiblity of posting this chapter up sooner. But I'm kind of glad she did now, because I worked even harder the second time. This is the best chapter, and probably most heartwarming chapter I might've written yet. Don't worry, you'll hear from the brothers next chapter. Review, and most of all, enjoy!**

**On a personal note, the last part probably looks like its leaning towards a bit of slash, but it isn't. Unless people wants to see slash, tell me. If not, XD don't worry about it for now.**


	12. Feline Rumble

**Disclaimer: I do not own much,just my OCs.**

**Chapter 12: Feline Rumble**

"So, Kat do you know anything about the area up ahead?" Mile asked. He was sitting next to his friends Diego and Manny, the mammoth also cuddled up to next Ellie. Kat, who was sitting on another end with Sid, nodded her head slightly.

"A little, Den was the one who did the scouting. All we know is at the end of this pathway, we'll be making our way into a human settlement, then from there, goodbye mountains." She made her explanation as short as possible, mostly because of the fact she didn't know too much more herself. Manny's eyes widened a bit.

"A human settlement?" He muttered. Kat nodded slightly, and added in with wariness in her voice. "Not like those small encampments you've happened to wonder into. Considering how many people are around there, it'll be hard to get through." She continued. Sid gulped, muttering.

"I see spears…" He shuddered slightly at he said that. Mile groaned slightly at the setback, then he raised his head a little.

"Can't we just go through at night? While they're all asleep?" He suggested. Kat shook her head a bit, and scratched the back of her head.

"They have guard dogs most likely." She replied. Mile's head drooped back down, starting to run low on ideas. Diego chuckled a bit, then looked at her.

"Then how about we take care of those guard dogs first?" The suggestion made Ellie poke him in the chest, and he grunted.

"Your really willing to kill some innocent creatures?" She asked sternly, staring down upon the saber. Diego looked up at her, a bit of aggravation in his voice. Most likely because she's lectured him too many times to count.

"If we don't, we're not going to get halfway through the campsite without getting turned into chop liver…" His eyes then wandered around the group, continuing. "And they probably gotten smarter over the months that's passed." Mile raised an eyebrow, then shrugged.

"Not that I want to challenge your natural sense of awareness or anything, but don't you think your putting too much thoughts into unproven facts?" He then added softly. "Even though we DO learn a lot over the years…" Diego growled a bit, hovering over Mile.

"At least I think before I do something crazy, say charging straight into a battle?" He countered. Mile however, simply smiled smugly.

"You think? Well there's a first time for everything." Now their simple argument were turning into insults, and they both had their eyes locked with each other, both growling. Sid, of course, then had to add in his own two cents.

"You two are grumpy today." Diego and Mile both turned their heads.

"Shut up Sid." They said in unison. They then continued arguing till Manny wrapped his trunk around Diego's head, then threw him into Mile. Their heads smacked, and anime like swirling eyes appeared as they fell over.

"Agh…now I got two people to fear…" Mile muttered, getting up. Diego got onto his paws also. Kat chuckled slightly.

"I know everyone is a bit disappointed about our odds, but we've been through worse, right Mile?" She looked at him with a smile. Mile smiled a bit too, then nodded, embarrassed. He then looked at Diego.

"Sorry." He said. Diego looked at him and shook his head. "My fault too.." He admitted. After they apologized, Sid then looked at them sternly.

"Ahem!" The two sabers looked at the sloth, then snickered. "Yeah we know, sorry to you too." They both said, amazingly in exact unison. Sid snickered.

"Now THAT was cool." He commented. Diego snickered and walked up to the sloth, smirking. "What would be cool is strangling that sloth neck of yours, but I guess that's out of the question with sloth girl over there." He then laughed as Kat whacked him lightly outside the head. It was then they heard some laughter, and Mile spun around.

"How cute."

"How touching."

"Nice to see you again Diego." Diego's eyes widened, he knew those…well some of those voices. He turned around as well, like everyone else, and to their surprise, saw three sabers standing a small distance away from them all, the pack grinning.

"Zeke…" He muttered, looking at the saber in the middle. It WAS Zeke, that fidgety, thin saber who had absolutely no patience. Except, he was a bit more well-built, he still had those freaky eyes of his, and the herd could notice an occasional twitch from one of his paws. He smirked.

"Your herd is THIS! Ha, two walking hunks of meat, a smelly red-neck sloth, a pair of big-mouth possums, and you. Hah this is a real laugh." Zeke started laughing, the other two sabers, who were much more well built and apparently pretty strong, laughed along with him. Diego scowled, but also noticed Zeke left out Katherine and Mile.

"What are you doing here?" He asked swiftly, anger in his voice. The saber chuckled.

"Not happy to see me?" He joked. Diego then took a step forward, growling. Normally before, Zeke would cower away, or smack talk, but this time, he growled back. One of the sabers then said.

"Listen, we're just here on da business, so give us the sloth and the saber." He yelled. He had a bit of a tougher, more scratchy voice, but he said words differently then how they should. Diego looked back. There was only one other tiger, and that was Mile, and in that case…

"What do you want with Mile and Kat." Manny concluded, his eyes narrow slits. Zeke laughed.

"Just orders from…whoops, too much info. All he said was that he wanted the key wielder and his little crew.." Mile and Kat exchanged glances, and the saber was just about to advance, but Katherine stopped him and walked forward in front of everyone. Sid started forward too, but a quick tug on his back by Mile made him stop. One of the sabers snickered, and came forward, circling the female sloth. Everyone was suddenly ready to attack, thinking that the tiger was going to attack Kat, but she stood there.

"You really must think you scare me…" She smirked. The saber simply smiled. "Not yet…but how bout now!" He then lunged forward…or tried to, he never got his hind legs off the ground. A gasp came from the herd.

"…Whoa!" Sid was wide-eyed. Kat had just as quickly rotated around, and slammed a fist up into the saber's belly. Its eyes were open wide as well, and he grunted, before Kat put all her power into throwing him back. He landed next to Zeke, who scowled.

"Get her!" He yelled, him and the other saber charging at Kat. She stood there, apparently reaching to her side, as if she had a pocket.

"Run Kat, run!" Sid screamed. Manny was about to advance, but then Mile hissed. "Don't move! Kat can handle this." He said calmly. The mammoth glared at him.

"And how do you know?" He countered. Mile said nothing, and simply pointed a paw. Everyone looked back, and saw Kat dodging each attack with speed, something flashing in her hand. She then pointed it up, and fired. The saber who followed behind Zeke's movements, grunted, a flash of blood coming down his side. A tiny thing of metal, seemed to flash from its side…it explained it, Kat used a gun for a weapon! It had only one barrel, but the move was quick and brutal, as the saber fell to the ground in pain. Kat glanced at Zeke.

"Now, let's play." She teased Zeke, who had looked back at his injured comrade. He then growled, and attempted to claw Kat. She grabbed the paw, then spun around, twirling the tiger with her hand.

"YAHHH!" She yelled, throwing Zeke into the rock wall. He 'slid' across it for a bit, then collapsed onto the ground, coughing. Scrapes and long gashes came down Zeke's left side, the skin totally slashed off.

"D-Damn…" The saber cursed, getting up on his feet. Sid was all wide-eyed as he saw this show of strength. Not even most male sloths were THAT powerful. Zeke growled and looked at the other two sabers.

"Forget her, head for the human camp." He hissed, sprinting towards the direction it was in. The two cronies glanced at each other, then followed. The shuriken which had hit one of them was taken out during the brief interval of time there was while Zeke and Kat had that VERY short rumble.

"We got to chase after them, those people will be in danger if there're more sabers up ahead." Mile yelled to Kat, who rubbed her left shoulder. A slight scratch mark about only an inch long came down. It wasn't terribly painful, but it stung slightly. The original group though, just looked at each other, unable to say anything about the performance by the sloth. Sid then came up to her.

"That was amazing!" He told her. Kat smiled a bit, holding in any embarrassment she felt. "Thanks." She said back. Diego nodded.

"Yeah, that was impressive." He complimented. She smiled a bit and was about to say something, when Mile's voice boomed. "Come on everybody!" She sighed, and yelled back.

"Hold your horses, smart-ass, we're coming!" She then looked at the herd. "Things are going to get ugly from here, you can come or stay." She smiled, then continued. "Umm, if something happens to me or Mile, you guys got to turn back---" Before she could even finish, Sid piped up, a bit loudly.

"Your not going to die! Mile's not gonna die either!" He boomed. Kat looked at him, and growled, though not trying to be too fierce.

"Stop trying to act like nothing bad can never happen Sid! You, you don't know…" Kat stopped, then backed away, shaking her head. "…Don't know what could happen.." She finished, a bit shakily. Sid, frowning, came up to her, a bit nervously, even more so since Diego, Manny, and Ellie were right behind him watching, worried about the female sloth.

"Sure I can't, but I just have this feeling your going to be okay. Your heck of strong, and I'll be wit ya all the way." He told her. Kat smiled a bit and blushed, seeing their hands were holding. But then she nodded slowly.

"Your right…no telling what can happen till the very end." She then remembered Mile needing their help, then her voice grew so everyone could hear.

"Let's go help Mile."

---Meanwhile---

"God the perfect time for her to be slow." Mile muttered, sprinting after the tigers who he was losing sight on. They were pretty fast for being injured. As he continued on, he slid to a stop, growling as a few shadow heartless spawn in front of him.

"Damn it…" He cursed, looking behind him. He saw the others coming, but not before another line of shadow heartless surrounded Mile from behind as well. He growled, keyblade already ready.

"Come on then!" He roared, sprinting forward without a moment's thought. Bravely, even as they all jumped at him at once, he jumped as well, slashing through and taking out about a fourth of them, the others just landing on the ground smoothly. He landed on his feet and spun around, swiftly jumping at another pair of shadow heartless.

Meanwhile, Kat was running, and she swiftly extended her hand, gun loaded and ready. She yelled out.

"I'm coming!" She then fired a few rounds, and more shadow heartless splattered into nothing. Mile, taking out a few more with well-aimed head lashes and slices, chuckled weakly.

"About time! Where were---" Before he could finish, he saw a shade of black and blue coming at him, and he rolled to the side just in time. He growled, one of those knight heartless had attacked him from nowhere. It had a black and blue body, and had that unnatural heartless symbol on its chest, and it had a silver knight helmet as well, the only thing showing was its yellow eyes. It was holding a small, but thick sword in its right hand, and the beast was already lunging forward to attack Mile again.

"Humph!" He grunted, then slammed his blade with the heartless, the steel clashing and now in a power struggle. The saber slowly pushed back, but not able to maintain enough power in holding his weapon, the struggle became one-sided quickly. Mile slowly slid back, and he continued to struggle, but then he saw something above him, and before he knew it, Kat had come down, and with both legs, smashed them down upon the knight's head. It made a grunting like sound before falling down, Kat standing on it triumphantly.

Mile smiled, then looked around. It looked like the heartless were through for now, and the two fights looked back to see the herd coming up fast. About time for them too!

Diego smiled, sprinting, but then to his shock, he saw something behind them. Another knight heartless, and its sword was hovering over its head. Mile and Kat didn't even know it was there.

"Guys!" He roared loudly and jumped over the two, startling them and looking back only to see the lowering blade.

"Ah shit!" Mile cursed. But luckily, Diego had pounced it down, the blade falling from the heartless's hands. The saber growled, and clawed it continuously, endlessly, not pausing or stopping until it disappeared. Diego panted softly, then looked back at the two worriedly. They looked at him with surprise, he saved them!

"You guys okay?" He asked softly. They both nodded, Sid, Manny and Ellie coming up from behind.

"Kat your okay!" Sid bellowed happily, embracing her from behind. Kat blushed and smiled, moving so she could hug bug, and Ellie smiled.

"Aww…" She murmured. Her voice made both of them stop hugging, a bit of red on their cheeks. Mile smiled a bit, then remembered what they were supposed to do. His head shot up.

"We got to keep going, those sabers will kill the humans if we don't hurry!" Mile then started running again. After a few seconds of sprinting, he realized no one was following, and turned around, and to his surprise, he saw them standing there with shocked looks.

"What's wrong?" He ran up to them, but an invisible barrier of some sort was in the way. Mile smacked his head into it, and he fell over dizzily.

"Whoa, who turned out the sun…" He groaned as he got up. He took a deep breath.

"Something put up this barrier all of a sudden.." Kat said with worry. "You should be on your guard…" She added hastily, turning around to make sure THEY weren't the ones who were the trapped ones. But then another voice came up behind Mile, making him spin around quickly.

"Yeah you should." Mile growled. It was Zeke, but this time he was alone.

"Where's the rest of your group?" Mile asked coldly. Zeke laughed a bit, grinning.

"Hey now, what's the rush?" He chuckled. Mile snorted then jumped forward, attempting to slash at the saber. But Zeke moved with uncanny speed and agility, dodging the attempted blows. Mile's eyes widened a bit in surprise, but he shook his head and continued hacking at Zeke.

"What's the matter?" He teased, jumping back fast and Mile's keyblade whizzing into nothing.

"BAH!" Mile growled, angry that he can't connect a hit. He heard Kat's voice from behind.

"Calm down!"

Mile took a breath, then looked forward directly into Zeke's eyes. He could see nothing but darkness, evil in them. But something was off, when Kat fought this saber he wasn't nearly as fast…

"Humph, I don't have time to play with you." Mile said dryly, in a 'pounce' position. Zeke chuckled and smirked. He seemed to be enjoying this.

"Well you don't have much of a choice, so can it, freak!" He then lunged forward, making the keybearer roll to the side just in time before he could be pinned. But as he came back on his feet, Zeke had attempted to bite at Mile, and succeeded. Mile howled in pain as the teeth sank into his side, blood oozing out as he attempted to knock Zeke back.

"Oh god.." Ellie's eyes were wide, and she couldn't watch this much more. She hid her face in Manny's side, scared. He wrapped his trunk around her and watched on. He was just as worried as her…

Kat slammed her fists into the invisible barrier, trying to get through as she saw Mile in pain. "OPEN OPEN OPEN!" She slammed her hands harder, till she was too tired to try. Sid put his hands on her shoulders, trying to make her relax, but it wouldn't work, she could only watch as Mile lost blood.

"Mile…" She said his name weakly, wishing she could help.

After some crazed struggling, Mile's vision was growing weaker. Probably because he was losing blood at a rapid pace. He had to think fast, so he flung his keyblade in the air, at a angle.

"Idiot." He could here Zeke mutter, who now unclamped his sharp teeth from Mile's side, only to slam into him a second later. Mile cried out as he rolled across the gravel, obviously in pain. His eyes flickered, then watched as the keyblade curved and coming back…

"So much for the keybearer…pathetic scum." Zeke laughed crazily as he advanced towards Mile. He slowly worked his way on his feet, his knees shaking as he hissed.

"I-I'm not done yet. Cura!" He shot his head up, just as a green light shone radiantly around him. Zeke had to cover his eyes, being only a few feet away, not seeing the keyblade coming…

…And striking his side, the same side Zeke gave the injury to Mile…

"…MILE!" A voice yelled, who was worried that Mile would be struck the same way as the unfortunate tiger was.

Zeke roared, his feet giving away as he fell on his belly. Mile on the other hand, caught the keyblade in his mouth. The wound on his left side was still bleeding, but at a slower pace, and his vision was a bit more clearer now then before.

His audience all gaped, bulgy eyed. Diego stumbled and tried to find words.

"What did he…how did he…"

"Whoa, that was…cool!" Sid exclaimed.

"Did he really do that?" Manny muttered, amazed by the wondrous light that surrounded Mile and helped him. Ellie looked up, then seeing Mile was okay, sighed with relief and a bit shakily.

"Is it over?" She asked. Kat looked up at Ellie, then back at the two fighting sabers. She bit her lower lip.

"…I hope so." Was all she could say.

Mile looked down at Zeke, who also looked back up at him. Both their movements were shaky, and visions a bit blurry. But Zeke started on his feet again, making the keybearer slowly get in a position to attack again. It was then Zeke laughed.

"Okay, a bit fast I must admit, but okay fight…" He slowly turned and stumbled away. Diego roared.

"Mile! Finish him off!" Zeke and Mile turned their heads to Diego, and he growled.

"Do it! Hurry!" His voice was practically pleading, taking Mile back a bit. He had figured Zeke and Diego knew each other, but what was it that made the saber want Zeke dead? Zeke laughed.

"Maybe you should kill me Mile, I'm heading for the settlement to see how my boys done…god forbid." He turned again, and started walking. Mile also started coming for him, but then he lost feelings in his hind legs. He fell on his belly weakly, just as the invisible barrier disappeared. Kat was the first to notice, and she ran for her partner.

"MILE!" She came up to him, putting her paw around his back and lifting him up. Seeing as she was struggling, Manny wrapped his trunk around the weakened saber, lifting him up and on his back. Diego just stood there, speechless. He then yelled angrily.

"Why couldn't you finish him Mile! Your just going to let him get away!" Before he could continue, Kat swiftly spun around…and slugged Diego right in the face. Sid gasped.

"Kat!" He said, amazed. Diego slid back a bit, then growled and started fast at Kat, ready to really unleash some hurt. But she stood her ground, and she cried out angrily.

"He did what he could! You don't really think he could do anything in the condition he was in! Jesus I'm praying he'll make it through that wound your little friend gave him, so keep your mouth shut!" She practically screamed this, her hands clenching into little fists. Sid quickly came forward.

"Calm down Kat…!" He told her worriedly, thinking Diego will lose his top. She ignored Sid and grunted, continuing to talk.

"You guys should rest here, I'm going up ahead to stop Zeke myself." She turned, but then her hand was grasped by Sid, making her turn back again.

"You should rest too, you don't look too good…" He suggested. Kat shook her head uneasily, and Diego walked next to them.

"Well if your going, I'm going too…" He told her, his voice small. He then started heading for the settlement. Kat looked into Sid's eyes, then her own drooped down.

"I'll be fine Sid…" he opened his mouth in protest, but instead of words coming out, was a muffled voice. Manny and Ellie's eyes widened, and then the female mammoth grinned.

"Finally!"

Kat had let her lips connect with Sid, determined that this will be a good enough answer, that it'll convince him she'll be fine. Not only that, but she longed to do it, to kiss Sid. As she released from the lip-lock which seemed to last forever for the two of them, Sid's face looked frozen in place. Kat giggled a bit, then told him.

"I'll be back…" She turned and ran, holding in the blush till she had turned. The sloth was still standing there, frozen in place, only responding to a poke by his friend Manny.

"You going to be okay bud?" He smiled down at Sid. No response…until he let what happened sink in. His response was most natural…

"WHOO HOO SHE KISSED ME!" Sid jumped up, exclaiming and shouting this happily.

---Meanwhile---

Kat blushed furiously, Sid's cry of happiness being heard easily. Diego only let out a chuckle, continuing to move. It seemed the area would open up just ahead, but then something was seen up ahead, a dark figure.

"What the…" Kat muttered. Diego was also curious.

The figure stood there, silent, his lips parting in which almost looked like a gasp. (Of course Kat and Diego couldn't see.) Whoever he was, he then started sprinting for the two FAST.

"Diego!" Kat exclaimed, her hand shimmering, and in its grasp, her gun. Diego quickly got ready, but not before the figure jumped and already was coming down, target, Kat. Her eyes widened at who it was…

**Author's PN: AND THAT is the end of Part 1. No I did not say anything about there being more then one part to the story, but I decided, since I also have some more characters to introduce or reuinite,I would do this story in Parts. I hope you enjoyed part 1 so far, means i'm about a fourth done with the fanfic.**

**By the way, I realize I made some errors that could confuse readers in some chapters, it may even be in this chapter. Which is why while I'm taking break and thinking on Part 2, that I'd go over the chapters and fix these mistakes. And again, sorry for the long wait for this chapter, not only was it long, but I've had many things to do.**

**Well I'm glad you enjoyed so far, stay tuned for more. Cloudmeister loggin off.**


	13. Crash And Eddie

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Ice Age, or any of the characters except my made up OCS. Oi, I think we get the picture here...**

**Chapter 13: Crash and Eddie**

_---Flashback---_

_"You guys have to go." Ellie said, her voice shaky and scared. She looked down at her two possum brothers, who looked back up with shock. They shook their heads quickly, crossing their arms._

_"We're not leaving you!" Crash yelled. But Ellie simply wrapped her trunk around them and lifted them up._

_"I'm NOT asking." She responded, before stuffing them through the small hole that was left when the way was caved in. She was relieved, knowing they would live, but Crash and Eddie at that point didn't even care about their own safety, they cared about Ellie. They looked back through the hole and yelled._

_"Don't worry! We'll go and get help!" Eddie screamed. _

_"Don't, MOVE!" Crash added, him and Eddie scurrying for the mammals that were making their way to the 'boat.' As they moved, they chuckled to hear her respond._

_"Duh." They continued on, glancing at each other._

_"You think Manny's up there?" Eddie asked his twin brother. Crash shrugged and grunted._

_"Who cares, if we get any dude to help, its good enough for me." He said back, voice not seeming to care. But in truth, he did care, and he also partially wished they'd run into the mammoth, Diego, OR Sid. Because honestly, they also started to feel like family despite how the two possums goofed around…_

_--End Flashback---_

Crash and Eddie moved around, sniffing and trying to pick up the scent or trail of their herd. Although Ellie had told them they could stay, the thought that their sister could be in danger, much less any of their friends, made them regret not coming. Now they would do anything to find them, and they were willing to get in the danger…well, kind of ready. They had given it a LOT of thought.

"They're worth it, they're worth it, they're worth it…" Crash kept muttering to himself, trying to keep from chickening out. Eddie gave him an odd look, and he chuckled, a little amused. Crash glared at Eddie.

"Hey, I bet your scared too!" He barked, though his high voice was mostly because of his embarrassment. Eddie's eyes moved away, him not wanting to admit it, but either way, it was obvious. Obvious to Crash that his brother was scared of the danger, and vice-versa.

"…We just gotta find Ellie and them, it can't be too hard…right?" Eddie responded, with a little weak chuckle. Crash snickered as well.

"Well on plus side, if something eats us, they'll rot from our diseases eventually." He joked, but it was a dry joke, and nobody was laughing, not even himself. It was just an attempt to brighten up the situation.

After a few more minutes of sniffing, Eddie grinned.

"Found them! That way!" He pointed in the direction. But as soon as he saw what he was pointing at, his hand quavered. It wasn't the fact the passageway was covered in dense fog, it was the fact that it spooked the hell out of them that made him hesitant.

"M-Maybe this was a bad id---" Crash started, but Eddie managed to counter without stammering.

"Ellie would do the same for us if we got lost!" Crash shut his mouth. He was probably right…

"……Your right." He muttered. Eddie was about to say something, but was silenced as Crash looked back with a smile.

"She would do the same, so let's bring her home!" He yelled. Eddie jumped up with a WHOO and then with a high five, the two brothers scurried on into the fog.

---

A figure stared upon the two possums that had ran into the foggy depths. It chuckled, and muttered. "I guess I should follow them, don't want them to be rat snacks now would I…after all, they know my friends." The figure was stationed in the shadows, behind a tree. It was particularly interested, and smiled a bit. It then followed them in, not worried that the fog hindered her vision.

---

"See? They came through here!" Eddie exclaimed with a satisfied grin, staring at the footmarks heading through. They were definitely from a mammoth, a pair of them. Crash nodded, scratching his chin as he pretended to be in deep thought. Eddie glanced at him and rolled his eyes.

"Come on, let's keep going, going, going." He laughed and started sprinting. Crash snickered too and chased after his brother, not noticing two shadow heartless moving behind them. They continued for a while, more shadow heartless chasing after and forming behind, the two not even paying attention. Pretty soon, they were seeing the very crossroad up ahead that the group was at, the one where they were attacked by the mammoth heartless, also known as Blackhorn. Diego had came up with the name, along with the tiger heartless which he had named Shadowmane.

"Oh my god…" Crash groaned more, slumping his shoulders. "How much longer…" He muttered. Eddie rolled his eyes and looked back to persist his brother to keep moving, but then he saw what was behind them. His eyes widened, teeth chattering. Crash glanced at him oddly.

"What?" Crash laughed a bit seeing his brother's 'terrified' face. Eddie then pointed behind him, stammering.

"B-B-B-Behind Y-Y-You…" Crash raised a brow, then looked behind him without any second thoughts. He froze with fear. About three or four shadow heartless were directly in front of him, and if they had faces, they would most likely be grinning…

…"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Crash jumped up and ran into his brother, making both of them tumble to the ground. The shadow heartless made sounds similar to snickering and advanced, hissing.

"I'm too young to die!" Eddie screeched, moving behind his brother, who attempted to move behind Eddie as well. The creatures continued moving in, ready to kill, when the sound of grinding stone was heard, and a weapon came flying at them, twirling so fast it was too hard to figure what kind of weapon it was. It hacked through about two of the heartless, then came back to whoever threw it. The 'person' grasped it in her hand, a smirk curling on her lips. The possums looked up, and gasped.

"It's a…it's a…!" "A girl possum!" Eddie noted with a blush. He found it embarrassing that a girl saved him. The female smirked and jumped down, then stumbled a bit as she used her weapon to keep her from falling. The weapon looked like a spear, though the slightly curved blade at the end was sharper, longer, and much more threatening then a spear tip.

A few shadow heartless, slightly stunned but still fighting, lunged behind her, attempting to knock her over, but with stunning agility, she rotated around, twirling her weapon and cutting through the monsters with ease. She twirled her weapon a bit more, then stopped, letting the shaft rest against the back of her shoulders as she waited for anyone else to try and attack.

They all made more abnormal hissing sounds, then backed off, slowly disappearing. The female smirked and yelled.

"That's right! You better run!" She then turned her head to the wide-eyed possums. Crash looked alarmingly, shifting so he was behind Eddie again. She chuckled.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." She said with a smile. Crash looked from behind his brother's back, staring at her a bit as if to try to find truth to her words. After a bit, he shy fully moved from Eddie, smiling weakly. The girl giggled.

"Weren't you guys part of a big herd?" She asked curiously, wondering why they were alone. The two possums glanced at each other, then nodded to her, wondering how she knew. She scratched the back of her neck with a raised eyebrow.

"Then why are you here?" She questioned. Crash walked up to her, with a suspicious look and an upraised finger, countered.

"I COULLLD ask the same about you!" The possum glanced at him oddly, then walked up to him, hovering over his height a little. Crash gulped, then muttered with a embarrassed look.

"Please..?" The female eyed him a bit longer, then smiled a bit, nodding her head.

"Fine, I'll tell you. My name's Ren, I'm looking for my friends. Mile, Katherine, and Den…" At the sound of the first name, Eddie's eyes bulged, and he exclaimed.

"We know him! We know him!" Ren's eyes widened, then she came up close to them, grabbing them each by the shoulder. This made them flush a little.

"You know Den?" She asked excitedly. They shook their heads with cheap grins, then continued. "That Mile guy!" Crash started.

"He's with our friends, who we're trying to find!" Eddie finished, cheering happily. Ren's face, seemingly filled with sadness after hearing they didn't know Den, brightened up a little as they told her of Mile. She then nodded her head, thinking.

_'If these two know Mile, then…'_ She thought for a bit longer, then smiled bright. _'Then maybe these two can lead me to him, then he can tell me where the others are!'_ She finished. Ren smiled bright, then looked at the two.

"Tell you what, I'm going to offer you guys my protection as long as you can lead me through this fog and find the others." She told them, her voice cheery. Crash and Eddie exchanged glances, then muttered to each other, slightly suspicious.

"Think we can trust her?" Crash asked.

"I don't know, but she might carve us like turkeys if we don't let her tag along. Besides, look at her, she's hot!" Eddie whispered back, glancing at her with a little grin, making her glance back strangely. They then crossed their arms and grinned.

"Fine, we'll lead the way. But your walking to the SIDES of us." They added the last part in hastily as they started to move again. Ren rolled her eyes and followed to the side of them. A bit of silence passed, as the three continued to walk through the fog. Eventually, the female spoke.

"You know, me being on your side KIND of makes it easier to make possum kabobs." She smirked. The brothers gulped, looking uneasily at each other, then started scurrying faster. The 'possum' laughed a bit then followed, holding her naginata tightly as she continued to move, trying to keep eyesight of the possums as they 'ran'.

Eventually, after a long bit of walking, they spotted a kind of crossroad up ahead, and another huge mammoth footprint on the ground. Crash could tell, he was the one who fell into it, just like the many other times he fell into Manny or Ellie's tracks that they left. Eddie snickered as his brother got out of the footprint.

"Shut up." Crash said simply. Ren giggled, and the possum brother stared at her disbelievingly.

"You too!" He asked, astonished. Ren giggled some more then pet his head, walking past. Crash blushed slightly then followed, Eddie laughing a bit as he pet his brothers head in the teasing way like Ren did. This time, Crash glared at him.

"She pet me in a special way." He tried to say, starting to scurry along again. Eddie rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Yeah, right, special." He snickered a bit, following the two up to the cross point, not spotting any heartless throughout the whole 'walk'. Crash bent down and sniffed the ground. Although not exactly having the 'keenest' of senses, he managed to sniff out the path that his friends took. He pointed to the left path and said in a victorious manor.

"They went THAT way!" He grinned. Ren chuckled then smirked.

"Quite the tracker, eh?" She teased, trying to embarrass him. It worked, cause Crash was soon blushing. But pretty soon, Ren simply passed by him, walking down the left path. Eddie looked nervous, then scurried up to her side saying.

"Doesn't this seem kind of funny?" He asked. Ren glanced at him oddly.

"What do you mean?" She questioned. Eddie thought for a moment, and then said.

"Well, you know…doesn't this cavern look like it…umm…" He stammered, trying to find the words. Ren looked forward, then noticed what he was talking about, finishing.

"Narrows?" Eddie nodded. Ren thought for a bit, then asked.

"You have mammoths in your herd, right?" The possum nodded. Ren thought a bit more, then started scurrying fast. The brothers noticed this, and looked at each other with confused glances, chasing after.

"Hey, wait up!" Crash yelled out. Ren looked over her shoulder, then yelled back.

"Mammoths could still fit through here, it opens up a little at the end, it looks like!" She told them. The two brothers glanced at each other, then followed faster, till the three reached the end…where a huge rockslide had taken place apparently. It was actually the work of Manfred, who had used his huge legs to slam down and cave the way in. Unfortunately it didn't help the three possums.

"What happened here…" Ren asked herself as she scurried onto the rocks, making way up to look for even a small opening. Crash and Eddie did the same. After a bit of exploring and looking for a way in, Ren sighed.

"No way we can get in here…unless," She grinned, then took her naginata and stabbed it between two rocks. The two brothers looked at her curiously, wondering what she was going to do, then grinned as she pushed, and had managed to move one of the rocks a bit. It was a tight fit, but it was as far as she probably could go before the boulders above would collapse and cover it back up. She glanced at the two.

"You guys are slim, think you can squeeze in without crushing yourselves?" She asked in a teasing way. Eddie glared then said. "Watch us! Come on Crash!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms and passing by the female. Crash walked slower, and smiled softly to hear Ren add in.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just don't want you guys hurting yourselves." She told them. Happy that she cared, Crash watched as his brother managed to pop into the cave without collapsing the rocks. He was doing fine as well, until halfway where he couldn't budge. He could hear Ren's voice from behind, and it was worried.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Crash grunted then responded back. "I'm doing great! Except one thing…I'M STUCK!" He yelled and started flailing. The rocks started to clatter a bit, and Eddie gritted his teeth as he thought his brother would be crushed. But suddenly, Crash's panicked expression turned into a painful one, one of his eyes shut completely, and biting his lower lip.

"What happened!" Eddie asked, shocked. Crash groaned and almost looked like he would cry, but sucked it up and said in one swift motion. "She hit me where the sun don't shine…"

Eddie winced, feeling sorry for his brother. Ren on the other hand, was getting slightly ticked. "Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit." She said, extending her foot back, then kicking his rear end. Yelping, Crash was practically forced out of the squeeze and into the cave, Ren quickly pushing her way in as well before the rocks caved them all in. Eddie's eyes widened while Crash got up, flailing his arms.

"What was that for!" He started up again, the two starting to argue while Eddie just shook his head in embarrassment. "Dimwits." He said out loud, causing the two to glare at him.

"What you say?" "You're a dimwit!" This caused all THREE to start arguing, still standing in the same spots and not having advanced inside any deeper. Their voices echoed throughout the cave, most likely attracting any heartless attention.

And as if on cue, a few shadow heartless slithered across the ground silently, seeing the three possums and ready to strike, forming their bodies. The three were so busy arguing, they didn't notice more heartless surrounding them, solidifying as well.

"AHH YOUR DRIVING ME CRAZY!" Crash yelled, jumping at Eddie. The brother ducked, causing Crash to finally notice what he was diving at. He screamed, almost girlish like, and curled up, connecting with the heartless. Being the weakest group of heartless, and being slightly fragile as well, it came to no surprise that it shattered in an instant.

Finally noticing the situation, Ren got her naginata ready, just as all of them attempted to jump and do a dive-bomb on Eddie and her. Eddie cowered in fear, of course, while Ren twirled her naginata above her, grinning as she repelled and destroyed some of the shadow heartless that attacked them. Crash also quickly scurried back to the two, and she said quickly.

"You two, you can help me fight!" The two brothers looked at her as if she was nuts.

"Say what!" Eddie exclaimed.

"We can't fight!" Crash finished for his twin, both of them hugging each other in fear. Ren glared at them, and said in a fierce tone. "You have to! Do what you did with that one heartless Crash! Come on, how do you expect to get a mate in life if your always afraid and being a coward!" This sudden speech made Crash and Eddie freeze. She knew about that too…how did she know?

"How did you know." Crash said dryly, glaring at her. Ren looked at him, then stabbed a heartless in front of her, side-stepping to avoid another and readying herself. "Listen, I was there with the other mammals when you and your herd arrived. I didn't think much of you guys, until I heard there was some fighting going on a day later."

She was cut off by a few more heartless attacking her, and this time the two brothers too. Being amazed by her story, Crash and Eddie sidestepped in different directions, grabbing the shadow heartless legs and bravely tossing it back. Ren smiled and slashed a few at her side, rolling to avoid another hit. Seeing she had a quick moment to talk again, she continued.

"I happened to run into you two when I checked it out, and saw you two goofballs in that tree full of possums. I waited, and saw you two slide down, and talk a bit about 'none of them being interested." She seemed a bit more agitated now, slamming a fist into one heartless, flipping and using her naginata like a pole as she handstand on it, avoiding a few more rams. She flipped back onto her feet.

"You know what, if you showed a bit more courage and muscle, maybe they would. But all you do is hide, cower, and don't attempt to do anything!" With that said, not having the breath to finish as she was getting exhausted taking down most of the heartless, she yelped as something rammed her back, causing her to stumble and fall forward on her face. Crash and Eddie's eyes bulged, a shadow heartless, which appeared to be the last one since all the others had scrambled, was the one who struck Ren, who was caught off guard explaining to them.

"Ren!" They yelled. Feeling braver now, Crash ran up to her side, picking up the 'spear' just as the heartless charged. He quickly thrust the weapon forward just as Eddie put his hands higher on the shaft to help…

…and both surprised to see it hit its mark. The heartless let out a sound almost like a screech, but weaker then the others. Eddie's hands shook as he looked in amazement, Crash as well.

"You guys did it…" Ren smiled as she got on her knees, looking at them. The two dropped the naginata, staring blankly at where the heartless once stood. A few minutes passed, and then…

"YEAH!" Crash yelled happily, jumping up, Eddie too. Both cheered as they said. "We saved her! We saved her!" Ren giggled and then stumbled forward, hugging them. Blushing, the two smiled as she whispered.

"Yeah you did…" She then let go from the embrace, and sat down, sighing. The two sat down across from her, Crash looking more worried then ever.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked. Ren nodded. "Just need some rest…you two, too…" She told them with a soft smile. He looked like he was about to argue, but Eddie clamped a hand over his mouth, silencing his brother.

"Okay! We'll be right here!" Eddie said cheerfully. Crash nodded as well, brushing his brother's hand away. "And if you ever need a hand to hold, or a shoulder to rest on, just let me know!" He exclaimed. Ren's eyes widened, and she blushed, saying.

"I'll keep that in mind…" With that, she dozed off, leaving Eddie to glare at his brother.

"What are you doing, flirting with her!" He asked, irritated. Crash however, just smiled smugly.

"Yup, so what, you never made a move." He countered with a smirk. This caused the two to argue more, and their arguing continued, until eventually they got tired talking as well, and zonked. Eventually, the three would awaken, and hope to find their friends again.

---Meanwhile---

Manny still had Mile slung over his back, the keybearer exhausted, and only had one eye open. Ellie looked at the saber worriedly, then pet his head with her trunk.

"Just rest…" She told him. At the same time, Manny turned his head, back in the direction they came from. Ellie's watch turned to him, and she asked.

"Are you okay?" The mammoth glanced at her, then back towards where they came. Softly he said.

"I don't know…just…call it instinct, but I think someone's following us." His voice sounded uneasily. Ellie however, simply laughed a bit, nuzzling her mate.

"Relax, we're fine." She assured him. Manny looked at Ellie for a bit, then nodded his head, agreeing with her. He still felt uneasy however, as if their WERE someone following them, close or far. But soon his mind wandered, and he looked down at the sloth near his foot. Sid had a worried look in his eyes, and the mammoth knew it was about Kat.

"They've been gone too long." Sid said simply. Ellie looked outwards, then suddenly looked worried as well. "Yeah…maybe we should check it out."

As much as Manny didn't want his love to get into danger, he knew as well that Kat had been away for too long. Something must've happened, and even worse, if something DID happen, Diego was dragged into it. Considering the situation, he nodded.

"Okay guys, let's go."

**Author's PN: I finally made an update, sorry, had massive writer's block, and I had school and summer vacation plans...well you get the idea. I'm so glad I made an update, and I made it all about the possums. I had planned for the fourth and final member of the group to be something different, but I like writing up romance stuff, so whatever. lol. And on another note, I realized I may've gotten stuff mixed up, so I'm going to look over, edit, and try to make sure the story makes as much sense as possible for anybody who reads the whole thing. I think this is a good enough personal note, so I shall work on chapter14...till then, enjoy!**


	14. The Gap Is Filled

**Disclaimer: I do now own Ice Age, or its characters, just my four OC characters.**

**Chapter 14: The Gap Is Filled**

"Den!" Kat smiled brightly and hugged her friend, Den gasping for breath as he wheezed out. "K-Kat, can't breathe…!" The female blushed a bit, then had let go of Den, he shaking himself a little, his fur having poof out a bit as he did so. Den, like the others was in a mammal form, though much different, he was an Aardvark, a little creature with a pretty big nose, big, if you compare it to a human.

The Aardvark shook its head a bit, and then adjusted the shield strapped to his back. Normally he used a weapon like a rod or something, he was widely use to a variety of weapons, being this little creature didn't help him, he wasn't two-legged, which would be the problem in the long run. Kat smiled and had patted Den on the head, making him grumble a bit. He wasn't that happy stuck in this pretty useless form. He was faster then most Aardvark, able to sprint much faster, but that was about it. His small size however, was useful for scouting purposes.

"Den, while I was waiting around, I ran into Mile!" Kat exclaimed in one sentence, making Den cough and have his eyes widen in surprise. "Mile? You serious?" He questioned, trying to make sure she was getting her info straight. Kat nodded and smiled.

Meanwhile, Diego stood off to the side, watching the two, silent. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation, plus he was still a bit mad at Kat earlier for punching him, which had given him a slight nose bleed. His ears then perked, the saber hearing louder footsteps. Den instantly got ready, although he wasn't big, and had harder times dealing with foes, he had learned how to make a more decent distraction. Plus, he always used his few abilities he had available. Just like Mile who could use magic to an extent, Den was much better at it, which made up for his lack of physical strength in his current form.

As soon as a mammoth came into view around the corner, Den instantly started shooting forward, Kat unable to stop him as she had tried to reach for him. "Den no!" Diego growled slightly and sprinted for the Aardvark. Despite having great speed, Diego was able to catch up with Den, and instantly pounced him down, ending up rolling across the dirty ground and onto Manny's foot. Manny looked down, surprised, then used his trunk to whack Den away.

"D-Damn!" Den cursed as he rolled a bit in a ball, then got back onto all fours, staring up at the mammoth. As said before, despite massive size difference, Den wouldn't make it easy for Manny if they fought right there. Luckily, Kat grabbed Den by one leg, then pulled him closer, slapping him outside the head.

"OW!" Den grunted, rubbing his forehead with his small trunk. Glancing at his friend he muttered. "What's the big idea? That hurts you know." Kat put her hands on her hips and smirked. "That's the idea."

As Sid rounded the corner too, he was in joy to see Diego right there in front of him, and even more so to see Kat further up. Instantly, without a second glance at Den, he made his way over, embracing the female sloth in a hug.

"Kat! Aw I thought something happened, I was worried sick!" Sid exclaimed, overjoyed to find Kat unharmed. Den looked at Sid oddly, then slowly asked, his voice slow and a bit suspicious. "And…who are you…?"

Sid let go of Kat, then glanced down at the mammal. The sloth then questioned, suspicious as well. "I could say the same about you!" He exclaimed. Den snorted and turned his head away, being cocky. "I'm not obligated to answer, I asked first." He responded. Diego growled slightly, but was stopped by Ellie lowering her trunk in the way, not talking as well.

"Actually, you should, or none of us will answer any of your questions. After all, you're the only stranger here." She said with a smirk. Manny chuckled and said under his breath. "Clever…"

Den glared at the female mammoth, then snickered, wincing soon after by another hit outside the head by Kat. It was then, while Ellie waited for a response, she heard a whisper in her ear, a weak one. "Put me down Ellie…"

Ellie glanced over her shoulder at Mile, who winced a bit as he tried to get off himself. She then used her trunk to wrap around him, and pull him off her back, placing him gently on his feet. He wobbled a bit, which only caused the mammoths to worry. Diego then said.

"Take it easy." Mile nodded to his fellow saber friend, then made his way over to Kat and Den, who were now looking at him too. The Aardvark looked at him curiously, then his eyes widened. Those eyes, just by looking at them…

"Mile!" He exclaimed, in shock and surprise, emotions all mixed together. "I thought you were killed in the crash!" He added in. Mile's response was simply a groan as he asked, slightly annoyed. "You guys have THAT little confidence in me?"

Kat and Den shook their heads quickly, smiling. "No we do!" Kat said.

"Its just that you always were the reckless one." Den added in. Mile rolled his eyes, then looked back at the whole gang. Ellie continued looking worriedly at him, but the keybearer smiled to her, giving her a sign that he was okay by turning around. Sid reconnected his arm with Kat, which made her make a slight purring sound. She giggled and kissed him on the cheek, which caused Den to ask the same question again.

"Once more I ask, who ARE you!" Sid smirked slightly, and countered. "I'm not obligated to answer!" He said, using Den's words and even mimicking his voice to an extent. Kat giggled some more, and the Aardvark simply grumbled as he said, this time loud enough for everyone to hear, who doesn't know him.

"Fine fine, I'm Denvis, Mile's partner. Nice to meet you guys…" He said. Manny nodded his head and said back.

"I'm Manfred." He introduced himself. Ellie smiled and nodded her head to Den. "I'm Ellie, nice to meet you too…"

Diego chuckled and came over to them. "Name's Diego."

Then, Sid greeted himself, an arm still latched around Kats'. "And I'm Sid. You're going to have loads of fun with our herd!" He exclaimed happily. Kat smiled softly at his enthusiasm. It was something she liked about him, his always cheery attitude, and his kind nature. It was probably why she did what she did before she ran off with Diego.

_'I kissed Sid…on the…lips.'_ She thought, blushing a little even then after thinking about it. Den noticed her blush, as did Ellie. The Aardvark wondered about Kat. _'I wonder what's going on with the two. She knows that mingling and having a relationship with people in other worlds is forbidden…unless…'_ He wondered a bit more.

_'Aw they're so cute……'_ Ellie thought, considering what to do. She wanted to give the two sloth some time alone too. They haven't gotten much time alone, and the situation when they had their first kiss wasn't necessarily the most romantic. She was thinking about that, and her own love life so deeply, that she didn't realize what was said next.

"The camp up ahead is nearly decimated." Den said, eyes focusing on his two friends, although Manny, Sid, and Diego were listening in as well. Mile was surprised, and Kat nodded knowingly, as if she understood this already. "I guess that's why I smelled the scent of blood." She noted.

It was a shame, by the time Mile and company had made their way through unfamiliar territory and through the mountains, the camp that Den had been scouting and looking for ways to get through, had numerous attacks by Zeke and crew. It explained why Kat's info afterwards wasn't correct. Den was so busy fending off tigers and heartless, and trying to save lives of the humans, she never even knew what was coming. It was only when she had came more closer to the area that she had smelled the blood, which at that point was too late.

"Damn it…" Diego cursed angrily, eyes staring down at the ground, ashamed to even be standing there. Mile glanced at him, then smiled weakly, saying. "Don't blame yourself Diego, your not the one who killed anybody." Diego shook his head, and snapped at the other saber.

"It doesn't matter! Zeke and I, we're related, bloodshed caused by him, also gives me a damn big blemish too! They'll think of me as, as the brother of the massacre's leader!" (What Diego means by blemish, is mean a bad mark or reputation by others. The Massacre's Leader, refers to how Zeke was the leader and had killed many of the humans.)

Manny seemed irritated by his friend's behavior. "Stop acting so childish. Like Mile said, your acting like you did all those humans in yourself." He responded, trunk pointed directly at the tiger. Diego was about to say something in counter attack, but Sid quickly butted in, frowning.

"Come on, you're a tiger. You don't really expect tigers to be what, vegetarians? Heck, you tried to eat fluffy butt here and pinky with your pack!" He exclaimed. Diego growled slightly, not liking the fact that the baby Roshan was being used against him, and even more so that Sid was adding more regret. Manny however, was surprisingly more ticked, poking the sloth hard on the chest making him fall on his rear.

"I'm drawing the line at fluffy-butt." He stared at Sid, obviously annoyed by the new nick-name made. Kat giggled softly, and teased. "Fluffffffy-buttttttt!" A lot of chuckles and snorts were heard around the group. Even Diego couldn't help but smile a little, even after the un-needed 'pep talk' by Sid. But you really couldn't blame him, if Manny was to say something, he'd probably would say that's the best he COULD do.

The female sloth then looked at Diego, somewhat sad that she had hit him earlier. She then gently placed an arm around the tiger's neck and gave a loose hug. Diego was surprised, but let her do so as she let go.

"Sorry for earlier, about punching your nose…that must've hurt." Kat noted, gesturing with a grimacing face. Diego laughed silently, then gave a sly grin to the sloth. "Maybe, but you know, us sabers are stronger then you think." Kat smirked and was about to challenge him to that, but then……

"Yeah tiger, you keep saying that!" A familiar voice yelled. Everyone's heads perked up and started looking around for the source. It was then Manny jumped, causing Sid to shriek in surprise. "Ah! Manny! Something slimy is crawling up your leg!" He exclaimed loudly. There were three, thin figures who made their way to Manny's back. It was then that Ellie screamed, though it was in a happy tone. Her high yell though, made even Den try to plug his ears up.

"CRASH! EDDIE!" She cried, extending her trunk over to the two brothers as she wrapped it around them in a kind of hug. They coughed and gasped slightly at the bit of a tight hold, Crash managing to say.

"G-Great to see you too sis, but could you please let go?" Ellie flushed slightly, releasing them from the hug. Ren, who was watching, giggled a bit, which gave a confused look to Ellie and the rest of the herd.

"Who's she, fellas?" Ellie asked with wonder. Crash grinned and was about to say something a bit…well, he was going to make a girlfriend remark, but Eddie put a hand over his brother's mouth, saying instead.

"She's a friend of ours. Wanted to tag along." Crash brushed the hand off his mouth, coughing as if having a hairball, then adding in with a grin. "Yup, she also wanted to see Mile!" As he said that, Mile glanced up curiously, wondering what a possum would need him for. Ren jumped from the surprised Manny's back, to the ground, where she could be visibly seen by all. The naginata slung on her back caught Mile, Kat, and Den's eyes, quickly recollecting their thoughts and figuring out who this girl was.

"…Ren?" Den questioned, the Aardvark stepping closer. Ren was surprised when the mammal said her name, but as she registered the voice in her head, she was even more amazed. "Bro…?"

For a minute, time seemed to stop for the two relatives, then, Den ran (or scuttled) over as fast as possible and gave her the best hug he could give in his form. "I can't believe it! Its you!" He said happily, glad to be reunited with his sister again.

"Yeah…" Ren murmured, releasing from the hug, smiling softly. Den was smiling back, obviously pleased that he was with her again. He was then surprised and grunted as she smacked him outside the head, her exclaimed. "Where the hell have you been!" She questioned.

"Me and Kat tried looking for you and Mile, you just disappeared. Don't blame me!" He countered, even with the eyes of others on them. Ren crossed her arms and said cockily. "Yeah yeah, killjoy."

Diego tilted his head slightly, then asked. "Uh…so you two are…" He asked. Den looked at the tiger and nodded slowly. "Yeah, we're related. She's," He started, poking Ren outside the head causing her to frown a bit. "the last one we were separated from." He said. Manny thought for a bit, then smiled responding.

"So the gap's filled, all of you are together again." Mile looked up at Manny for a minute, then smiled, nodding. "Yeah, knew we couldn't be separated for TOO long." Mile commented with a laugh. Kat giggled a bit, still near Diego. She was happy that they were all together again, though she wasn't sure what to say to Den about her and Sid.

Denvis wasn't exactly…well…cool with different dimension romances. He felt they were going against violations, considering they're getting a bit TOO far and close with the ones who live in that dimension. In this case, it was Sid and Kat, which made her nervous slightly. What she didn't know was that this was probably going to be referring to another certain pair as well.

"Well, anyways…" Denvis spoke through the silence, eyes on him now. "So Ren, how'd you find us?" He asked curiously. Ren giggled then poked her brother on the forehead, making him grunt slightly.

"Animal instinct?" She replied, giggling more. The others couldn't help but snicker a bit, even Den. It was then he said. "Well, we should head back." Mile cocked his head to the side slightly, and asked.

"Back? We're going after that Nobody." He said sternly. Den glanced at Mile, then said with a dry tone of voice. "There's nothing much past this area, more settlements. And the Nobody is probably gone by now." Denvis said intelligently. Mile grunted and said nothing, while Kat folded her arms across her chest and added in.

"He does make a point…a herd of mammals walking into a human settlement isn't exactly…well…you get the idea." She said. Sid nodded, and chirped in too. "Besides, all four of you are back together again! You should relax!" He exclaimed. Manny and Diego chuckled a bit at the sloth's usual kind demeanor. Mile, Kat and Ren also nodded in agreement, while Den glanced at Sid oddly, and eventually nodded as well.

"Yeah." He said simply. Manny looked at the Aardvark strangely. _'He seems…uninterested in us.'_ The mammoth thought. Then again, Den did attack them, so Manny didn't like the aardvark TOO much either. He couldn't exactly hate him, not yet, after-all, this was Mile and Kat's friend.

"So, we head back to the fields?" Ren asked her brother, smiling. Den this time, smiled warmly to his relative, and nodded. "Yeah, let's get going." He said. Everyone nodded and turned, walking. A few minutes after they started walking, Diego asked.

"What path are we taking? One of them are blocked off." He noted, glancing at Manny. The mammoth grunted, not saying anything as Den piped in. "You saw two paths didn't you? We're taking the one you guys didn't bother to take, or rather, the one you weren't able to take." He responded smoothly.

Mile chuckled a bit and nodded. "Yeah, I'm guessing it's a smooth pathway?" He questioned. Den nodded simply, and most of the herd coughed. If it wasn't for being rushed, they could've broke their way through the heartless that surrounded them and went THAT route. Of course, it seemed the heartless was spawning more in that direction.

"But, this was the path that the heartless were coming from when we were attacked and caved ourselves in." Ellie pointed out. Sid nodded knowingly, actually understanding what was going on, which was probably amazing to the rest of the herd. He was walking along next to Kat, who added.

"The heartless spawning, and all, they don't usually spawn anywhere specific unless directed, so I guess they were directed to guard the most obvious path." She said. Diego thought for a moment, walking near Mile, and then said with a surprised expression.

"And whoever told them to do that, probably would think we'd seal ourselves in." He continued, with the keybearer finishing him off. "And think we'd die trying to make our way out of the 'labyrinth' in the mountain."

Kat and Den nodded in sync, and it was then, Ellie glanced up at the three possums who were sitting on her back. "Then how did you guys find us?" She asked. Eddie crossed his arms and grinned, saying.

"Footprints, and your scent." He said. Crash smirked as well, and chirped. "Its so much easy the second time around."

A lot of the group chuckled as they walked the curving pathway. They were guessing it curved AROUND the mountain. It was so simple, yet it was because of one of them not being courageous at that time to take out the new heartless that appeared!

Which reminded Mile, as he glanced at each of his pals. "As you guys probably know, most of the worlds have different kinds of heartless…well here, we got tiger-like heartless, and mammoth-sized ones." He said. Ren crossed her arms, groaning a bit. It was bad enough that neither of the four were of big enough size to actually take down something mammoth-sized, unless lucky, but that must probably mean they were as strong as a mammoth too.

"Me and big things right now, don't mix well." Ren said with a droop of her head. Sid laughed a bit and said. "Being a possum isn't too bad…course I don't know what its like as a possum except its all about the dung, but still, probably not TOO bad." He tried to assure her. But the dung response only made her frown and turn a bit pale with disgust. Crash looked at her, almost insanely, then exclaimed.

"You don't like dung!" Ren turned her head to Crash, looking at him weirdly too, and opened her mouth to say anything, but closed it again, nothing coming out. Mile, Kat and Den each shared odd glances too, the Aardvark countering with an almost dry voice.

"Even if she did like it, Ren wouldn't step a foot into…….well yeah, right sis?" He gave her a stern glance, because he kind of guessed Crash and Eddie would try to offer her to try it, considering their species and all. Ren blushed a bit, and said.

"Right." Was all she said. She was probably blushing more by the fact that Den thought she could be persuaded easily by Crash or Eddie, though being their specie, she felt a kind of a bit of an attraction to them, strangely enough.

While everyone was talking, Den gave Mile a look and whispered. "What's with Kat? She's acting a bit…weird." He questioned curiously. Mile tilted his head slightly and glanced at Kat, who was further ahead with Sid. She was walking awfully close to the sloth, and it seemed Sid was tempted to put his arm around her, or make some kind of mood. Mile shook his head slightly and said softly.

"Den, its nothing, its just…" He started, but Den snapped back, though still in a whisper so nobody could hear. They were in the back, the three possums and two mammoths being in the near center, the slothes behind them, and Diego up front.

"Its just that it seems Kat is getting a bit too _COMFY_ with that…thing!" He said, a bit annoyed. Mile was getting annoyed as well and countered. "I know, but its alright." He said, with the most calm voice he could possible do. It was then Den started saying something that chilled him.

"These relationships are violation! The LEADER, that be you, could get in serious trouble, as well as me or Ren for not stopping this! Now, unless Kat decides to stay here, and really devote her life to staying with this 'Sid', she's going to be in more trouble then any of us, even risk _death_!"

These words chilled Mile, and then he looked towards Kat again. She seemed a bit more cheerier, even after what she said back to when they were talking behind the waterfall. He remembered how he even persisted on having her stay…

…He now realized it was 'probably' the most idiotic thing he's done, as he had done one more thing without thinking…unless Kat considered it beforehand…

**Author's PN: Oh my god I actually did chapter 14! AFTER 3 MONTHS! I'm laughing right now XD I wish I had gotten to this sooner, I had horrible's writer block, and the ever so popular laziness that strikes us. But yay! I'm on a roll, I finally got this up, and have a bit more inspiration to continue. Hopefully, it won't be another 3 months for Chapter 15...of course I may be writing it right now. :P Who knows...anyways, enjoy!**


	15. Do You Love Me?

**Disclaimer: I do not own nothing except my OCs, I guess..I don't own Ice Age either.**

**Chapter 15: Do You Love Me?**

If one was to check the time in the keybearer's own world, it would be around 4 to 5 PM. So in other words, it was only a few hours away of being nighttime, by the time the huge herd had made their way to the open earth. Sid took in a deep breath and grinned brightly.

"Finally! Land Ho!" He exclaimed. Kat giggled and watched the sloth head enthusiastically to the fields, her following in suit. Ellie giggled a bit and murmured to herself. "They're so cute…"

Crash and Eddie snickered a bit, sliding down to their sister's tusks, watching the two. Ren was sitting directly on top of Ellie's head, smiling softly, though her mind was confused right now. So many thoughts were going through her head, things that made her very confused.

Meanwhile, Diego snickered and said to Manny. "I didn't BELIEVE I'd see the day the knucklehead actually getting a mate." He commented. Manny snorted slightly and said with a smirk. "Me neither, shocker, isn't it?" He added in, causing the two buddies to laugh a bit. They liked to pick fun at the sloth, but of course, they cared about Sid just like any other member in the herd.

Mile walked along, more silently then the others, and he smiled a bit at Kat and her going off with Sid up ahead. He mentally decided that he'd talk to her later once everyone settled down. Den was frowning, though he calmed down, no longer worried. Except when Mile made a certain comment he got a bit ticked.

"Why do they make these kind of rules, they're so…stupid." Mile said dully. Den rolled his eyes and said, his voice piping up slightly. "Its so nitwits like yourself don't do anything to mess up the flow of these words. Course, your so friendly-like, its hard for you NOT to."

It was Mile's turn to roll his eyes, though it was true. He got so attached to the worlds he went to, he kind of didn't want to leave, and he also wanted to solve all of their problems. But of course, considering there're more key-bearers now, there has to be rules. Sora was the exception because he was one of the first key blade masters, and was the one who had saved the universe more then once with the help of his pals Donald and Goofy.

Mile remembered how he used to idolize Sora and Riku, considering they were like the most legendary fighters and saviors ever known. But now, these new key-bearers don't even have as much freedom as they had, it seemed kind of unfair. But those were…the rules.

Rules…the rules did say not to get into the worlds' problems all that much, if at all, but Mile's group did anyways. A huge example was Sid and Kat. They were happy as could be, yes, but…

"Hmm…Den, you can't really say this is against rights…" Mile commented. The Aardvark glanced at him oddly, then the saber continued. "I mean they aren't getting into the world's problems. I haven't even seen ANY, other then finding a new place to live, and I barely helped with that." He finished.

Den was silent, then grunted saying. "It is interfering. Sid needs a mate and Kat filled herself for that role." He said. He didn't WANT to be mean, he just felt he had to be the tough, stern one of the group, because the others can be hard-headed at times. He then sighed and cracked a tiny smile.

"And as I said, this would only work if she split from the team, and stayed HERE…it seems clear as crystal, what she'll decide on at the end…" Den said softly. He really didn't want to split with Kat, she was a really filling role in the team, and a good friend. He made what he just said sound like he knows she won't stay.

Mile was now silent, making both of them that way. They then paid attention as everyone started walking towards the group's earlier campsite, and the same place Mile had encountered the Nobody. Sid crossed his arms, far ahead with Kat, and asked curiously and a bit nervously. "You don't think that white thingy is still there, do ya?" Kat glanced at him, and giggled, stating with a smirk.

"Scared?"

Sid shook his head wildly, wanting to act…'brave' and courageous in front of this sloth he likes oh so much. "No way!" He exclaimed, that being all he said. Kat simply smiled and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush slightly as the old campsite Mile and company were staying was in view.

"Finally, I could use a rest…" Manny muttered as it came into view for him and the others. Ellie giggled and poked him with her trunk, smiling cutely. "Aw come on, the trip wasn't THAT bad." She said. A few seconds after she said that, they gave each other glances, then laughed. They laughed because the knew there were quite a few life-threatening moments, that they were now getting accustomed to.

"Well, it was…exciting, I guess." Manny admitted with a light chuckle, Ellie giggling a bit more in response. It was true, things have gotten exciting with Mile and his friends along. Heck, this was almost making the meltdown pale in comparison.

Sid and Kat sat down on the rocks, smiling as Manny and Ellie passed by, along with the possums, Diego, and then Mile and Den from behind. Kat jumped down when she could, looking at her two fellow teammates with a smile. The two smiled back, though Den's smile was a bit lighter.

"Finally some R&R…" Mile commented. Kat snickered and smirked, crossing her arms. "You honestly can't tell me you've had enough." She said. Den also snickered, as the saber looked away, embarrassed. "Just TIRED, so much dang walking…" He said, then quickly scuttled past Kat before she could counter-attack. Den looked at Kat for a while, until the point she found it a bit…creepy.

"Um, you okay Den?" She asked curiously. The aardvark sighed softly and nodded, making an assuring smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." He said softly. Kat put her hands on her hips and said with a stern look. "No you aren't." She said simply.

Denvis sweated a bit, then groaned, saying again this time a bit louder. "I told you I'm fine." He told her. Kat rolled her eyes and chuckled, though she had a guess on what was wrong. She knew he was being really offish.

"Okay then…" Was all she could say. She didn't want to push it, but she DID know that something was wrong. He wasn't normally like this. She then walked over to Sid, wrapping her arm around his again, making him smile more. He liked being this close to Kat, it made him feel loved and special.

As Kat wrapped her arms around Sid's, she thought about what could be, and what was the most likely reason why Den seemed offish, especially around Sid. She sighed softly, Kat was aware just like the rest of them what consequences were for meddling in various worlds to this magnitude. You date one, you date someone in another world, your practically an important part to both of them then. If a relationship like this was to occur, Kat would HAVE to stay here, she'll officially be 'part of the world'.

_'Do I like Sid that much to stay here and lose everything…?'_ She wondered to herself, a bit sadly. Sid noticed her face, and nuzzled her gently, making her lose track of her thoughts and look at him. "You okay?" He asked softly. Kat glanced at the sloth, and smiled softly, nodding her head.

"Kind of, I just got a lot on my mind." She said honestly. Sid smiled, rather sheepishly, hugging her again as he responded.

"Okay."

Den watched them oddly as they hugged, wondering if he should say anything. He wanted to, he just wasn't sure how. He then went 'what the heck', and started walking over, thinking this has gone on long enough. He cared about his friends a lot, maybe he was doing this because he wanted to continue traveling and being with them…

"Hehe, Crash you're so weird." Came a voice. Den turned his head, and to his surprise, he saw Crash and Eddie jumping down and ending up landing in some mud, some of it splattering on Manny's fur as they laughed. The mammoth grunted and said with a glare at the two.

"Weird isn't the half of it." Was all he could say. Ren giggled some more, jumping down next to them, avoiding the mud as she placed her hands on her hips. Ellie was watching this with amusement.

"You know, if you want to impress girls, maybe you should jump less in the mud, and stay more on the clean side?" She suggested. Crash and Eddie glanced at each other, then back at her, as if she was insane. Then, suddenly, something snapped in Crash's head. He grinned a bit, walking a little closer.

"Do you like guys if they're clean?" He asked. Den immediately went into 'death-glare' mode, although it wasn't seen by anyone as his sister chuckled. She flicked Crash on the forehead, albeit playfully, stating.

"Yes, girls find cleanliness to be a good thing." And with that, she walked off playfully, leaving the two a bit stunned. Then, they started whispering to each other, which perked the Aardvark's interest.

However, he was distracted as Mile spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "So guys, tomorrow we'll start searching for Zeke. After we beat him…" The saber sighed a bit as he remembered how he nearly got trounced. "Me and whoever else is coming will be leaving this world."

Everyone was wide-eyed at this. This was so sudden, out of the blue. They all knew the four were from another world, another dimension even, but…

"Wait, what do you mean 'whoever else', its going to be all of us, is it not?" Den countered with a raise brow, trying to see if Mile was accepting Kat's decision. Diego seemed to growl a bit at this, and even Sid seemed a bit upset. Den was being awfully…well…awful, which in the other worlds, was really strange. He was normally just protective of his sister..

"If anyone wants to stay, they can," Mile replied, ignoring the Aardvark's agitated look as he continued. "After-all, it was suggested someone should stay on the world, just in case something like in Sora's adventures happened again." Obviously he was mentioning when during the legendary team's absence, heartless had started overwhelming a lot of the worlds again, along with Organization XIII who showed their faces here and there.

Denvis however, was not pleased. "They SUGGESTED, not REQUIRED."

"Its their decisions if they want to stay or not!"

"That's it!" Den was at his boiling point now, tackling Mile as they started fighting…or slashing at each other, all at once, rolling around. Manny and Diego both exchanged looks, finding this strange, before they each said.

"They're insane." They said in unison, especially aiming towards Den's constantly changing behavior and thoughts. Kat frowned and winced a bit, then grabbed Sid's arm, whispering to him.

"Let's find somewhere more private." She then started dragging him away, the sloth surprised, but not saying a word as he headed off in another direction with her. None of them noticed, and Ellie was glancing at her mate worriedly as she asked.

"Shouldn't you stop them?"

Manny looked at her, then back at the two fighting quadrupeds, then back at her again. Then, with a slight smirk, he responded. "Well I could, but there's nothing better to see or do."

---

"Hey Kat, what's up?" Sid asked as she dragged him to a more deserted area of the plains, where there were few rock formation surrounding them, just like at their campsite. The female had a worried look on her face as she looked around, making sure no one was listening in or was around, for that matter.

She decided she wanted to talk to him about their relationship, and what they needed to do…she looked at him bravely, taking a breath, then…

"Sid…we need to talk."

Oh boy, that tone, that look…Sid didn't like it one bit. She seemed…distressed for some reason, he was suddenly feeling worried inside…

"Y-Yes?" He asked, looking at her, trying to look tough. But his feelings were obviously showing, at least to Kat, and she gulped a bit. She didn't want to break up with him, her feelings for him were…

"Well, you see…there were…rules. They said that we couldn't interfere with the natural lives of others, at least, not something as drastic as say, a relationship." She explained. Sid's hand shook a bit. He was thinking he knew…he was just guessing he knew what was going to be said next..

"And, the reason Den is acting so strange, is because he only cares about the team, and us, his friends…I think he just can't stand the thought of one of us leaving.." She continued. Sid bit his lip, nodding his head slowly, understanding what she was saying. He was about to say, 'just say it', when all of a sudden..

"But…he's going to have to because I decided…I'm going to stay here with you." She finished. Her heartbeat was racing, fingers twitching a bit. Sid's eyes had widened at this…what did she just say?

"You're…s-staying…?" Sid stammered, astonished. Kat nodded sheepishly, blushing a bit.

"Yeah…I…haven't said this to you yet Sid but…" She started, inching close to him. Sid watched as she adjusted her head to look at him, their eyes locked on each other for a while.

"I…think I love you…"

Sid nearly fell over, surprised by what she said. His mind was racing, even as her head inched closer to his. She loved him? She was going to stay? Why would she stay here just for 'him'? All of these questions, but not one escaping his lips, as he was only able to say back.

"I love you too Kat.." He replied, wrapping his arms around her. Kat sighed happily at his response, moving up and kissing him. This wasn't like the past kiss, oh no, since there wasn't no rush this time. Sid embraced her, kissing her back, eyes closing as well as hers as they just enjoyed the moment..

_'I can't believe she loves me…! I finally got a mate…HA TO YOU MANNY! DIEGO!'_ Sid was thinking, his lips forming into a grin. The sloth figured that his friends had doubts he would find a mate. Who knew that today was the day. Their thoughts about the conflict between Mile and Den were pushed aside, as the sun started hiding behind the clouds above..

**Author's PN: **

I realized that through my writing and wanting to do best on each chapter, I've made a few loopholes and mistakes along the path of making my story. I realized I made certain plot ideas and future ideas in the early chapters, yet I didn't read up to them till I went back to check on things. First rule, re-read your work before posting the next chapter. Heh. So I'm sorry for the confusion, i'll go over the loopholes.

First noticed one was on Chapter 5, where he admits to the organazation stating a keybearer should stay in each world. When I make an official Kingdom Hearts fic, this plot I thrown in won't be valid or true, as I realize that will cramp up the story. But I'm pondering if I should go through with this idea for THIS story, I'm not sure.

The second mistake I made was with the first few chapters. I'm sure you people have realized the swift change in personality by Manny. All honestly, when I started this fic I had saw Manny more outgoing by the end of the movie. But then I realize I was being very OOC. I plan to make some edits and changes for the earlier chapters, perhaps lengthen them a bit when I become less lazy.

Another note, if I do, do this. I WILL NOT ADD ANY LOOP-HOLES OR PLOT IDEAS THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAVE TO RE-READ THE ENTIRE STORY...I HOPE! Of course I'd be really happy if you read the whole fic over and over, hey, its what makes an enthusastic and inspired author. But I won't be mean and put stuff in, I will simply re-write so its a bit more IC.

The organazation ordeal I've mentioned is probably confusing a lot of people. First the thing in Chapter 5 then what happened in Chapter 14. I will make a small spoiler note here. The thing is, these can meld, except I realize I haven't played Mile out so he re-called the plot twist in Ch5. I will try to clear some things in Chapter 15 or 16 when I get to them, I promise...well I hope.

Then there's the thing about The space-ship that people may have seen in the movie "Ice Age", MILE ISN'T LINKED to that spaceship. A different space-ship crashed and had caused Mile to go through the caves. Sorry for the confusion.

The last thing is the many grammer errors I probably made or the repeat of words. Honestly, I don't have the GREATEST vocabulary in the world. -laughs- Sure I'm a Californian, but I rarely use those harder to remember words like 'rebuke' and such. I'm trying to extend my thoughts in writing, so please dont' blame me here. XD

Thanks for your time. Also, feel free to tell me any other plot holes you may've seen or errors/confusion. I'll be glad to answer them in the next chapter. After-all, its the readers that tend to motivate the writer the most...and also, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to put up, but I just didn't have inspiration to continue this story. To be honest, I don't have much to start Chapter 16. This chapter itself was a bit rushed...so for now, i'm going to put this fanfic on hold for a bit, and work on other things...I apologize. But if anybody can help with ideas to help me get this story done and such, or to advance it further, go right ahead. I'm all for it! Thanks.


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